INDIANA – Storms raged through the area Sunday afternoon leaving a wake of damage.
A tornado was reported in Martin County in the Windom Road area.
Orange County Rural District One and French Lick firefighters were called to assist passengers who were trapped in a train near the second tunnel on the railroad tracks.
Hail was reported throughout the area.
Hail damaged several vehicles and the hail has put some holes in the atrium at the West Baden Springs Hotel.
The West Baden Springs Hotel is still open to guests, but its well-known atrium is closed indefinitely after hail damage.
Crane Naval Base also got hit by severe storms.
There was a possible tornado spotted around 4:30 p.m. in Crane Village near Odon in Daviess County. Law enforcement in the area also reported the funnel cloud. There were reports of damage to homes and cars.
Tennis ball-sized hail was also reported in Shoals.
Officials in Martin County said that responders were searching for victims and clearing trees from the roads.
“It’s all just happening at once right now,” Monty Wolf, the director of the county’s emergency response team said by phone.
The National Weather Service Indianapolis office says two survey teams were sent to Johnson County to look at the damage, and another team responded to an area of damage in Martin County.
In Johnson County, Bargersville Fire Department Chief Eric Funkhouser said no serious injuries had been reported in the area, and 75 homes received moderate to severe damage. Crews have been conducting search and rescue operations since around 4:15 p.m. and have completed a primary search of all impacted buildings.
Officials estimated a roughly three-mile-long path of damage from the tornado, from the area of Travis and Mullinix roads, south of Center Grove High School and across State Road 135 to the Stones Crossing area.
Crews have been working to clear roadways and conduct secondary searches of impacted buildings.
