SOUTHEASTERN IN — Residents around Southeastern Indiana continue to clean up from Saturday afternoon’s severe storms, which left behind widespread damage.
Thunderstorm wind damage toppled a number of utility poles and power lines along US 421 north of Napoleon between County Road 1050 North and the Ripley/Decatur County line.
The Decatur County Emergency Management Agency says the National Weather Service in Indianapolis is expected to determine that straight-line winds of 80 to 95 mph caused damage throughout the county, but especially in the northwest.
Particularly hard hit was St. Paul, where law enforcement was telling those who don’t live there to stay out of the area, and residents not to go around town and “sightsee.”
Decatur County EMA Director Brad Speer is thanking the following agencies for assisting at the scene following the emergency response and cleanup process:
St. Paul Volunteer Fire Department, St. Paul Volunteer Fire Department Auxiliary, Letts Volunteer Fire Department, Letts EMS, Decatur County EMS, New Point Volunteer Fire Department, St. Paul Police Department, Decatur County Sheriff’s Office, Decatur County Communications, Decatur County Highway Department, Duke Energy, Decatur County REMC, Rush/Shelby REMC.
“As you can see by this list there were many agencies involved with this response effort and these agencies did a great job under such difficult circumstances,” Speer said. “Decatur County EMA would also like to commend the citizens in the affected area as well. The people showed once again why Decatur County is a great place to live and raise your family by assisting neighbors and friends. The patience allowing the emergency agencies the time to do their work and then the assistance provided in the cleanup has been tremendous.”
The high winds uprooted trees in Sunman, northeastern Dearborn County, and in the St. Leon area. The baseball scoreboard and a trailer were blown over at East Central High School.
Downed trees and power lines caused thousands to lose electricity, but just about everyone in the area was back online as of Monday morning.
