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Storm damage along I-65 near Whiteland
On Saturday, April 1, 2023, storm damage was littered along I-65 near Whiteland, Indiana.
Indianapolis star Clark Wade
The town of Whiteland in Johnson County took a “direct hit” last night as a suspected tornado and severe weather swept through most of the state.
The National Weather Service said Saturday night its team has preliminarily determined that the community was hit by an EF2 tornado with winds of up to 135 mph. The southern part of the town, about 20 miles south of Indianapolis, suffered a “direct hit” around 11:30 p.m., according to Whiteland Police, which knocked down power lines and blocked roads with debris.
According to the Daily Journal, several homes and warehouses were destroyed or severely damaged. Parts of Franklin have also seen destruction.
Whiteland Fire Chief Eric Funkhauser told the Daily Journal that the wind destroyed at least 10 to 20 homes and left about 20 people in shelters.
Whiteland Police said the first mop-up resulted in no fatalities, but that a second Red Cross mop-up was underway.
Storm coverage: Midwestern Indiana hit by a severe storm. Here’s what we know.
According to the National Weather Service, Central Indiana has a strong wind advisory until 6 p.m.
AES Indiana reported that as of Saturday morning, just over 4,000 customers are currently out of power, dealing with many utility poles and wires throughout their service area.
At least 40 tornadoes were reported Friday in Arkansas, Iowa, Tennessee, Illinois, Wisconsin and Mississippi, weather.com reported.and more 28 million people The National Weather Service said it was under tornado watch at some point Friday, with some areas declared a Level 5 “high risk” outlook for severe storms.
Contact IndyStar reporter Caroline Beck at 317-618-5807 or CBeck@gannett.comFollow her on Twitter. @CarolineB_Indy.
Caroline’s work is supported by Report for America and Glick Philanthropies. As part of its work in Marion County, Glick Philanthropies partners with organizations focused on closing the access and achievement gaps in education.
Report for America is a program of The GroundTruth Project, a non-partisan nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening local newsrooms. Report for America has Caroline funding up to half of her salary during her tenure, with IndyStar funding the rest. For more information on how to support IndyStar’s partnership with Report for America and how to make a donation, please visit: indystar.com/RFA.
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