Illinois Tornado Shreds Homes, Traps Residents
A tornado snatched roofs from homes and buildings in Bloomington, Indiana, Thursday night. Bloomington is home to Indiana University and the damage on the west side of town appears widespread.
More than 1,700 customers were without power in hard-hit Monroe County Friday morning, according to PowerOutage.us
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No injuries have been reported so far, but significant damage is being reported at the Monroe County Airport and the Monroe County Humane Association. Wind gusts of 70 mph were recorded at the airport just after 7 p.m. local time.
In a statement Friday morning, the airport’s director said they lost power for about three hours, several outbuildings were destroyed and multiple hangars are heavily damaged. Despite that, the airport is open and operating.
The Humane Association’s executive director said all of the animals are safe and have been moved to other locations.
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Bloomington Police said their officers and other first responders were seeing extensive damage but were also “experiencing difficulties with the large number of people that are driving around looking at damage.”
They urged people to avoid the area, warning of the danger of downed power lines and trees.
Damage survey teams from the National Weather Service will be in Monroe and Sullivan counties Friday where the tornado was observed.
The tornado warning for Bloomington included what’s called a PDS or Particularly Dangerous Situation warning. That indicates a life-threatening situation with a higher likelihood of severe damage.
More than 30 counties across Indiana were under tornado watch or warnings on Thursday.
A wave of severe thunderstorms also brought hail, high winds and heavy rain across central Indiana.
This is a developing story; please check back frequently for the latest information.
