IDHS Gives Latest On Tornado Response Efforts

Press release from Indiana Department of Homeland Security

 

March 3, 2012

11:45 a.m.



State of Indiana Response to Tornado Activity in Southeastern Indiana



SITUATION SUMMARY



Yesterday, on March 2, 2012, tornadoes struck the southern part of the State of Indiana. Counties known to have sustained damage include: Clark, Jefferson, Posey, Ripley, Warrick, Washington and Wayne. Spencer County is also reported to have sustained minor damage. The hardest hit counties are reported to be Jefferson, Scott, Ripley and Washington Counties. The full extent of damage sustained in these counties is still unknown. Damage assessments are beginning. It will be a few days before damage estimates can be quantified.



Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels is surveying damage this morning and has visited Henryville, Marysville and New Pekin.



The Indiana National Guard, State of Indiana, and Marion County have deployed teams to respond to the event. Federal officials are en route to the State EOC.



NEW INFORMATION

Public Health: a tetanus clinic is being set up for Washington County residents ONLY at Pekin United Methodist Church in Pekin at 244 South Shorts Corner Rd.

There are 14 confirmed fatalities:

Jefferson County, 4 

Scott County, 3 

Ripley County, 2 

Washington County, 4 

Clark County, 1 (added 8:20 a.m. Saturday 3-3-2012)



Power Outages: 1,448 customers without power



Current occupancy in shelters: 5



ONGOING UPDATES



Communications: Only limited communication issues are being reported at this time.



Road Closures: 

•US-50 at Holton

•US-31 from US-50 to SR-104

•Paoli – SR-61 closed between Lynnville and Boonville

•SR-3 closed at Marysville



For information on road closures, visit the Indiana Travel Conditions site, which can be found athttp://indot.carsprogram.org/ or by calling (800) 261-ROAD (7623)



Utilities: Due to many gas leaks, all natural gas services have been turned off in Henryville. 



Open Shelters List:



Red Cross Shelters

Charlestown High School,

1 Pirate Place

Charlestown, IN 47111



South Ripley Elementary School

1568 S. Benham Road

Versailles, IN 47042



Lide White Boys and Girls Club

1551 M.S.H Northgate Road

Madison, IN 47250



American Legion

209 S. Main St

Salem, IN 47167



Non-Red Cross

Country Lake Christian Retreat

815 Underwood 

Henryville, IN



Injuries:

While significant numbers of injuries are being reported, there are no reports of local medical facilities being overwhelmed. 







RESPONSE EFFORTS



State Emergency Operations Center: 



Under the leadership of the Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS), the Indiana Emergency Operations Center (EOC) has increased staffing and will remain activated 24 hours a day to monitor conditions and provide resource support to county emergency agencies in areas affected by this afternoon’s severe storms and tornado activity. 



State Agencies supporting activities in the State EOC include: 

Indiana Board of Animal Health
Indiana Department of Administration 

Indiana Department of Correction
Indiana Department of Environmental Management
Indiana Department of Homeland Security
Indiana Department of Natural Resources—Indiana Conservation Officer
Indiana Department of Transportation
Indiana Family and Social Services Administration
Indiana National Guard
Indiana State Department of Health

Indiana State Excise Police
Indiana State Police
Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission
Integrated Public Safety Commission 



Other organizations supporting activities in the State EOC include:

Indiana Task Force 1 (federal team)

American Red Cross



Teams Deployed:

Indiana Task Force 1 (84 persons): Deployed on 3/2, ceased operations upon darkness, restarting operations after morning brief to continue with search and rescue and structure stabilization operations in Henryville



District Response Task Force (DRTF) 5 IMT (7 persons each shift – 14 total): Deployed to operate as Clark County Emergency Operations Center (Sellersburg, IN)



District Response Task Force (DRTF) 4 (55 persons): Arrived in Salem, IN overnight to report to New Pekin for 0830 Briefing. Mission is to provide any needed assistance to Washington County and Town of New Pekin



Indiana IMAT (12 persons): Arrived in Henryville, IN on 3/2 to begin incident management coordination of the Henryville and Marysville areas



INNG: Deploying (1 Pkg – 49 persons) Multi Function Force Package (MFFP) to New Pekin to assist DRTF 4 and (1 pkg – 49 persons) to Henryville to report to Indiana IMAT.



Indiana National Guard (INNG):

Indiana National Guard stands ready to aid the citizens of southern Indiana during this disaster that was created by tornadoes that ripped through Marysville and Henryville, Indiana during the afternoon of Friday March 2nd. 



232 Indiana National Guardsmen are reporting to locations in southern Indiana to provide Defense Support to Civil Authorities (DSCA). The troops will be working with emergency management services in the affected areas. 



The soldiers are deployed to Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS) Districts 8 and 9 to provide support to the communities affected by tornadoes to prevent the loss of life and human suffering.



Indiana National Guard is also providing aerial support to assess the affected areas. The INNG will be using Black Hawks for the air missions from Shelbyville Armory Aviation Facility. 



The Guardsmen stand ready for search and rescue, patient evacuation, civilian evacuation, debris clearance, route recon, area security and any other missions as directed by IDHS if needed during the disaster relief.



Department of Natural Resources:

Twenty Indiana Conservation Officers with several Four-Wheel-Drive and All-Terrain Vehicles have been deployed to Clark, Jefferson, Scott, and Washington counties to support ongoing search and rescue efforts. Seven additional officers from central Indiana are poised to deploy tomorrow. 



The Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry has assembled a saw crew which is standing by to deploy to southern Indiana to assist with debris removal. 



Indiana State Police (ISP):

More than 100 ISP troopers from around Indiana have been deployed to affected areas.



More than twenty troopers with the Tactical Intervention Platoon (TIP) from Bloomington, IN have been deployed to southern Indiana to assist local law enforcement with security. 



The Mobile Command Center and high ranking ISP officers have been deployed to Henryville to assist local law enforcement with ongoing security efforts.



Vehicles from Indianapolis have been deployed to southern Indiana to replace several damaged vehicles during the tornado events.



The Indiana Department of Transportation is supporting numerous county crews in clearing main thoroughfares of debris. 



Eighty-four individuals with Indiana Task Force One, a federal emergency response team comprised of Hoosier first responders, has deployed to southern Indiana to assist with search and rescue efforts. 



District Response Task Forces:



Fifty-five individuals with the IDHS District 4 Response Task Force have deployed to New Pekin. 



IDHS District 5 Incident Management Team (7 persons) have also deployed to southern Indiana.



Staffed with local firefighters, law enforcement personnel, emergency medical services personnel, emergency managers, and other local emergency response professionals, the District Response Task Forces will support county emergency management agencies in the affected areas.



The accompanying map indicates the counties that comprise each IDHS district. 



The Indiana Incident Management Assistance Team (IMAT) is the forward response team for the Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS) during times of disaster and large scale emergencies. While the team is hosted by IDHS, the team consists of 12 members from multiple state agencies and is designed to handle all types of emergency incidents. The IDHS IMAT will be the forward eyes and ears in Henryville for the State Emergency Operations Center (EOC).



The IDHS IMAT has deployed with the Incident Response Vehicle (IRV) which has satellite connectivity, a weather station, video teleconferencing capabilities and internal/external Wi-Fi capabilities. The IRV also supports workstations for six, a conference table and various communications capabilities including satellite radio and telephone.



PUBLIC ADVISORIES



Anyone uncertain about the safety of residents in affected areas should visit www.redcross.org and click on “List Yourself or Search Registrants” to register or see if their loved one has checked in.



Tornado survivors and concerned citizens can call 2-1-1 (or 317.926.4357) for help and information regarding the recent severe weather event. 



Hoosiers in the affected areas are asked to pay attention to and follow the directions of all local law enforcement and public safety officials. Hoosiers NOT in affected areas already are asked to refrain from traveling to affected areas.



The single best way to help disaster survivors in southeastern Indiana is with a cash donation to a legitimate relief agency, such as the American Red Cross, operating in the area. 



People can help those affected by disasters like the Midwest tornadoes and storms, as well as countless crises at home and around the world, by making a donation to support American Red Cross Disaster Relief. Consider making a donation today by visiting www.redcross.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or texting the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Contributions may also be sent to someone’s local Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Contributions enable the Red Cross to prepare for and provide shelter, food, emotional support and other assistance in response to disasters.



For more information about actions before, during and after severe weather and tornados, visit GetPrepared.in.gov. 



Follow IDHS on Facebook and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/IDHS to stay informed about this developing situation.



Text “follow IDHS” to 40404 to receive updates from IDHS even if you do not have a twitter account.

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