Tornadoes kill at least 9 across southern Indiana

The twisters tossed debris onto roadways across the wide area north of Louisville, Ky., making it difficult for rescue workers and others to get to communities damaged by a line of powerful storms that wreaked havoc in several states and killed at least 15 people.

"I'm a storm chaser," said Susie Renner, 54, of hard-hit Henryville, "and I have never been this frightened before."

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, who planned to tour the damage Saturday, said in a statement he was "hopeful of soon knowing the full extent of the damage but it will be tomorrow before we can give a final report with any confidence."

Initial reports from Henryville and nearby Marysville were ones of devastation.

"Marysville is completely gone," Clark County Sheriff's Maj. Chuck Adams told The Associated Press. Fire officials said at least five people were injured in the town, one of many littered with bent utility poles and downed trees.

State Joint Information Center spokesman Jet Quillen said at least three people were killed in Scott County. Two people also were killed in Holton in Ripley County, including a man from Mexico who was visiting friends, said Indiana State Police Sgt. Noel Houze Jr. Six other people were taken to the hospital with serious injuries, including an elderly couple whose injuries were life-threatening, Houze said.

Indiana State Police Master Trooper Rick Stockdale said four people were killed in the Chelsea area in Jefferson County. Stockdale said a man, woman and their 4-year-old grandchild died in one house, and another man was killed in his home a short distance away.