Strong storms that might have included tornadoes on Sunday night left several reports of damage to structures -- including broken windows at a high-profile downtown Indianapolis building -- and trees and utility poles across central and southern Indiana.
In downtown Indianapolis, between 10 and 12 stories of windows at the Indiana Square building, a 36-floor structure with Regions Bank as its primary tenant, were shattered as a storm struck the city. Several roads near the building (pictured, below) were closed late Sunday and Monday as workers cleared the area of debris late Sunday.
Police said it was remarkable that no one was seriously injured.
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"We had city inspectors in there last night, along with the building engineer. Many of the offices are just blown out," Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson said. "There are no walls in them -- furniture sucked out. It's a pretty serious situation."
Damage was done to both the northwest and southwest sides of the structure. Part of the building was bulging beneath the damaged floors, Peterson said.
The building's owner, Todd Maurer, said Indiana Square, which houses 40 tenants, withstood the damage well despite the destruction.
"Every floor is structurally safe. It's too early for us to determine how much damage was done or what the cost is going to be," Maurer said. "Our first priority is to our tenants. We've already located some temporary space for many of the tenants."
The building was closed Monday because of the damage, and Maurer said he does not know when it will reopen. About 1,000 people work there.
The storm struck the city as thousands of fans departed a free John Mellencamp concert that was part of the NCAA's Final Four weekend.
Elsewhere in Indianapolis, bricks crumbled off a building at the Eagle Terrace apartment complex on the city's west side. Trees were knocked into homes on the north side. A tree fell into a home and a truck at 49th Street and Primrose Avenue.
Trees and a fence were knocked over at the Indianapolis Zoo, on the city's west side. Winds also toppled a metal sculpture at White River Park.
A home under construction was obliterated in the 1100 block of Tecumseh Drive, on the city's east side.
About 4,200 Indianapolis Power & Light Co. customers were reported without power as of 11 a.m. Monday. Officials said getting power back to those people might take some time because they involve problems at individual homes. IPL expects power to be restored to most of those customers by Tuesday evening.
The storms also cut power to some 95,000 Cinergy customers, primarily in Bloomington, Vincennes, Bedford, and Clarksville, said Angeline Protogere, a spokeswoman for the utility. About 20,000 Cinergy customers remained without power as of 11 a.m. Monday, primarily in the Bedford, Bloomington and Princeton areas.
Southern Indiana Hit HardThe worst of the damage was reported in southern Indiana, where nine people received minor injuries.
Cars and mobile homes in the J&L Trailer Park in Elizabethtown, about 50 miles southeast of Indianapolis, were toppled when a suspected tornado touched down, said Sandra Turner, a dispatcher for the Jennings County Sheriff's Department.
In Mitchell, about 75 miles southwest of the capital city, a woman suffered a broken arm when high winds threw a tree into an apartment complex, police dispatcher Larry Tyler said. The winds blew roofs off homes, toppled vehicles and blew a parked pontoon boat into a cemetery.
In Seymour, two homes were destroyed and several others were damaged.
In southwest Indiana's Daviess County, the west side of Washington was the hardest hit, a dispatcher said.
Two firefighters suffered minor injuries while moving debris in Daviess County, Demuth said.
Also in southern Indiana, minor injuries were reported in Loogootee, where an apparent tornado temporarily trapped some people in a mobile home, said Martin County Sheriff's Department dispatcher Stacie Raposa. Another trailer home was damaged in Alfordsville, she said.
Both Mitchell and Shoals, about 18 miles away, were without electricity, the dispatchers said. The towns have a combined population of about 5,000.
In Gibson County, 16 miles of high tension line went down around Princeton, Demuth said.
"U.S. 41 near the Toyota plant there was closed both directions because of the (power) line across the road," he said. "There's a (Cinergy) high voltage feeder outside of Bedford that's out."
In western Indiana's Parke County, an amateur radio operator reported a possible tornado at approximately 8:55 p.m. five miles west of Rosedale near U.S. 41, the National Weather Service said. Trees and power lines were reportedly downed and ¾-inch hail was reported near Greencastle in Putnam County.
Police in eastern Indiana's Randolph County reported that a barn was destroyed and three utility poles had fallen across county roads a few miles northwest of Winchester, the weather service said.
In the Greensburg area, wind blew a semitrailer over on Interstate 74, 6News reported. Authorities in several Indiana counties reported downed trees and power lines.
The National Weather Service is sending storm damage assessment teams to several locations to determine if the damage was done by straight-line winds or tornadoes.
This round of potentially severe weather came two nights after central Indiana was hit by strong to severe storms that caused
extensive damage in parts of Johnson and Shelby Counties.
Stay with Storm Team 6 and TheIndyChannel.com for the latest severe weather information.
Copyright 2007 by TheIndyChannel.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
