Monroe County safety officials assess damage after storms leave thousands without power

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Thousands of residents in Bloomington remain without power after severe weather rolled through Monroe County and other portions of southern Indiana Tuesday night.

The Monroe County Emergency Management Agency said Indiana 211 has received 36 damage reports throughout the county, with early reports indicating "significant" property damage at Monroe Lake and other areas.

As of 3 p.m. Wednesday, more than 37,000 homes were still without power. An additional 56,000 outages have been reported around the state as of Wednesday afternoon.

Duke Energy has called in hundreds of additional line workers as crews continue working to restore power. The utility company has not provided a timeline for when the power could potentially come back on.

The Monroe County Board of Commissioners issued a Disaster Emergency Declaration Tuesday night after widespread reports that public structures were damaged and multiple trees and power lines had been felled during the storms. The disaster emergency declaration remains in effect.

Monroe County EMA Justin Baker said cleanup crews are being dispatched to the areas that have been most affected by the excessive rain and wind damage.

Monroe County resident Richene Norris said their family has been relying on two generators as the power outages persist.

“We got two generators keeping our food from spoiling and that’s about it," Norris said. "All of our stuff in the backyard, the grills and everything got tossed the whole backyard. Looks like a 2-year-old threw a tantrum and threw all their toys around. Just what we wanted to do today but just thankful that nobody was hurt."

Two Herons Marina in Bloomington posted on Facebook Tuesday night that the entire marina has been “disconnected from land” due to the severe weather.

“The marina was severely damaged by today’s storms. There is no power, no sewer, no water lines, and the entire marina is disconnected from land,” the social media post said. “We will provide further updates about boat rentals as soon as we are able.”

Boat owner Stewart Crego estimated the cleanup after Tuesday's storms could take crews and residents months.

"It’s worse than I thought it was because nothing is attached to the land anymore," said Crego. "I’ll probably make access to the dock fairly quick but to get all the damage and get everything back into place probably gonna take months and got nasty for about 30 to 45 minutes here. Probably the worst wins I’ve ever seen in Bloomington.”

Monroe County was already under a travel advisory before the emergency declaration was announced as agencies worked to clear roadways of fallen debris and scattered trees just after 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Although a tornado has not been confirmed by the National Weather Service, straight-line winds damaged several homes in Owen, Vigo and Clay counties. As of this article's publication, Monroe County EMS said that no major injuries have been reported.

Residents living in the affected counties are encouraged to contact Indiana 211 at 866-211-9966 or report damage online at in211.org.

Available resources

Impacted residents can visit any of the cooling stations that have been established in Bloomington, Elletsville and Unionville. A full list of the centers can be found online here.

The Indiana Volunteer Organizations After Disaster, Feeding Indiana's Hungry and other organizations are also being mobilized to assist.

Bloomington residents can visit a shelter that has been established at 111 N. Rogers Street. Residents must enter the shelter before 8 p.m.