Tornado Damages Southern Indiana Fire and Police Headquarters

PAOLI, Ind. (AP) – A tornado struck a southern Indiana town, tearing the roof off the police and fire headquarters and leaving debris piled on the courthouse square.

The National Weather Service said Monday night’s storm damaged numerous buildings in the Orange County town of Paoli, about 40 miles northwest of Louisville, Ky. The town also had widespread power outages following the storm, but no injuries were immediately reported.

“Fortunately we had nobody hurt. There are all kinds of rumors flying around of people hurt or missing. That’s not true. Everybody is accounted for,” Orange County Emergency Management Agency Director Rick Emerick told The Times-Mail of Bedford.

The National Weather Service said the damage was done by an F1 tornado with winds of about 95 mph. The tornado was on the ground for about two miles and was about 100 yards wide, the weather service said.

Emerick said emergency workers went door to door to check on residents during the night.

Much of the town’s power was back on Tuesday morning, although the opening of schools was delayed.

On the town’s west side, officials said the storm ripped a large portion of the roof off the building for the police and fire departments and several homes and businesses had roofs torn off or windows blown in.

Paoli Town Council President Mark Jones, who, as assistant chief of the Paoli Volunteer Fire Department, was among emergency responders at the scene overnight, said police and firefighters were unable to work out of the building due to the damage. “We’re worried about it caving in,” he said. Jones told The Associated Press that officials were trying to find temporary housing for police.

There was also extensive damage to a flower shop and a furniture store on the courthouse square, Jones said.

Jones told The AP that fewer than 100 customers were still without power Tuesday morning.

“Everyone should be up and running, hopefully, by the end of the day,” Dave Block, the town’s electrical department foreman, told The Times-Mail.

It was the second time in about a year that downtown Paoli had seen extensive damage. A fire on Nov. 13, 2010, destroyed a bank building dating to the 1880s, 12 apartments and a tax service.