MONROE COUNTY, Ind. — A local Disaster Emergency Declaration was issued for Monroe County Tuesday evening.
According to a Facebook post from the Monroe County Emergency Management Agency, much of the area has been impacted or immediately threatened by excessive rain and wind damage.
An emergency declaration signed d by the county’s board of commissioners indicates there is widespread damage to public structures, trees and power lines in Monroe County.
“All public offices and employees of Monroe County are hereby directed to exercise the utmost diligence in the discharge of duties required of them for the duration of the emergency,” the declaration read, “and in execution of emergency laws, regulations and directives — state and local.”
The declaration also called for Monroe County residents to cooperate with public officials while they execute emergency operations.
“All citizens are called upon and directed to comply with necessary emergency measures, to cooperate with public officials and disaster services forces in executing emergency operations plans,” the declaration read, “and to obey and comply with the lawful directions of properly identified officers.”
The Monroe County EMA is encouraging property owners to report structural damage their homes and buildings may have sustained via Indiana 211. Damage can be reported by visiting in211.org or by calling 211 or 866-211-9966.
Before the disaster was declared, officials issued a travel advisory in Monroe County because heavy debris had fallen into roadways during Tuesday’s storms.
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.”
Photos courtesy of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
As of 9:06 p.m., Duke Energy had reported that more than 47,000 people in Bloomington and the surrounding area were without power. The company also indicated that about 16,000 of its customers in Terre Haute were experiencing outages.
On its website, Duke Energy indicated that wind gusts of more than 60 mph had mangled power lines, poles and other electrical equipment. The company reported that its crews are making repairs where possible, though power restoration times may be subject to change as crews are still fully assessing the damage.
