Tornado Death Toll At Least 18

(Evansville, Indiana) Updating a previous post, Reuters reports 18 people have died and more than 100 were injured in last night's tornado.

From IndyStar.com:

- The tornado developed in a line of thunderstorms that rolled rapidly eastward across the Ohio Valley during the morning.

- The National Weather Service posted severe thunderstorm warnings for sections of northern Ohio.

- The damage path through Newburgh, eight miles east of Evansville, was about three-quarters of a mile wide, and extended for roughly 20 miles, Assistant Fire Chief Chad Bennett told CNN.

- He said emergency sirens sounded, but most people didn't hear them because it happened in the middle of the night.

- No deaths were reported in Kentucky, said Michelle King, a dispatcher with the Henderson County sheriff's office.

- At the Ellis Park racetrack, between Evansville and Henderson, Ky., the Henderson County Sheriff's department said about half of the track's grandstands had been destroyed, along with horse barns and housing units.

- There were conflicting reports of injuries at the track. Paul Kuerzi, the track's vice president and general manager, said several people were injured, but Larry Koerber of the Henderson County emergency management office told MSNBC there was one minor injury.

- Koerber said four or five horses were dead.

- Mike Roeder, a spokesman for utility company Vectren, said 25,000 homes were without power, mostly in Warrick County.

- There also were reports of natural gas leaks.

Rescue workers continue to sort through the debris. Both FEMA and the National Guard have been activated and Gov. Mitch Daniels is on his way to Evansville. Indiana state officials are gathering at the scene.