A four-year-old boy is dead after a tree crushed his home in Geneva Township, Indiana, during a violent derecho that knocked out power to more than 800,000 Americans across four states — the kind of preventable carnage that happens when Washington writes blank checks abroad while the homeland rots.
Three people are confirmed dead and the region is still underwater. In Roseville, Ohio, a resident died during a health emergency because flood-swamped roads stopped first responders from reaching them. In Portage, Indiana, a house exploded and killed one person after the storms passed — downed trees and power lines blocked emergency crews from even getting to the scene. Portage police chief Mike Candiano said officers had to park a mile away and run toward the home. "It seemed that every road had a tree down," he said.
The child in Jennings County was killed around 3:30 p.m. when wind slammed a tree onto his bedroom. Chief sheriff's deputy Cody Low said the death was tied to the storms that tore through the county.
The National Weather Service confirmed the system as a derecho — straight-line winds recorded at 99 mph in Gary, Indiana, tearing across at least 250 miles. Three tornadoes touched down near Chicago. Dayton, Ohio, shattered a rainfall record that had stood since 1915. Flood watches stretch from Indiana to East Tennessee through Friday.
Javid Jenkins, a 54-year-old from the Chicago suburb of Homewood, summed it up: "No power. It was very scary. We were down in the basement. We're built for snow. We're built for cold. We're not built for this." He was driving around looking for gas to keep his refrigerator running.
AEP, the utility provider for the Columbus, Ohio, area, said it had more than 2,000 workers trying to restore electricity. Columbus mayor Andrew Ginther warned residents that power could be out for days. "Things are not going to be fully restored and back to normal later today or tomorrow, the day after that," he said.
Sixteen inmates at the Grafton Correctional Institution in Ohio were hospitalized after lightning struck as they returned from an evening meal.
Ohio governor Mike DeWine declared a state of emergency in Perry and Muskingum counties and deployed 40 National Guard members for flood response. "I encourage everyone to pay close attention to local media reports and take these weather warnings seriously," DeWine said.
All three outlets covering this story — the New York Post, AP, and The Guardian — reported the casualty figures and power outages straight. None asked the obvious question: where is the federal infrastructure investment that might have kept roads passable, power lines resilient, and first responders mobile? Over 800,000 customers lost electricity. Trees took out lines across four states. Emergency crews couldn't reach dying Americans because roads were blocked. This is a grid and a road network running on fumes while Congress ships hundreds of billions to foreign governments.
The storms are expected to continue through the week. More rain, more wind, more flash flooding — and more Americans left to fend for themselves.
A four-year-old is dead. A patient died waiting for help that couldn't get through. The power is out and the roads are impassable. Washington will send the thoughts and the prayers. The money goes somewhere else.
