BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — More than 25,000 people remain without power in Monroe County Wednesday afternoon as crews begin to clean up the damage left behind by a strong thunderstorm the day before.
The Monroe County Board of Commissioners signed a Local Disaster Declaration because of the widespread damage around the county. The declaration will last until at least next Tuesday.
Monroe County residents needing immediate shelter assistance due to storm damage can reach Monroe County Emergency Management Agency Deputy Director Justin Baker: justinbaker@co.monroe.in.us or 812-349-2546.
People in Bloomington can also report structural damage at in211.org or by calling 211.
POWER OUTAGES
According to an outage map from Duke Energy, 41,737 customers were without power as of 5 p.m. Wednesday.
A spokesperson for the company said that Bloomington and Terre Haute were "ground zero" in terms of damage, with about 85% of the outages in Indiana.
More than 730 additional resources, including linemen, damage assessors and tree clearing workers were brought to Indiana to help get the lights back on for customers.
"Our priority is always to restore service as quickly and safely as possible, and we appreciate our customers’ patience while we respond," said Duke Energy Indiana President Stan Pinegar.
TRAVEL ADVISORY
Monroe County remained under a travel advisory by the Indiana Department of Homeland Security Wednesday afternoon, which is issued when routine travel may be restricted in areas because of a hazardous situation.
During a travel advisory, people are asked to use caution or avoid those areas.
