Downed trees, power outages, and damaged homes in Madison Meadows (76th Ave and Madison Street) from tonight’s storms. An unconfirmed tornado but certainly confirmed extreme winds whipped through Merrillville around 8:45 p.m. The fast-moving storm took off roofs, damaged garages, knocked down fences, and damaged parked cars, but as of this writing, we have no reports of injuries.
Thank you to Merrillville’s finest first responders for being on the scene as soon as possible checking for injured Merrillville residents and securing homes while owners made arrangements for boarding up and securing their properties. Fire Department was on hand to shut down gas lines and watch for fires or downed power lines.
We have closed 73rd Avenue from Broadway to Mississippi due to downed power lines and the need to replace several power line poles.
Our Street Department is out now and clearing debris and downed trees to keep your streets open and safe.
I can’t thank enough our town departments who stepped up as needed. As I walked through Madison Meadows I was shocked to see that no one was injured and that all residents were accounted for. Nice job PD on doing the search and finding everyone.
Merrillville residents stepped up also to help each other. I could feel the real sense of community, as it should be. Reports are that power will naturally be restored as soon as possible. Bridgewood, Teal Crossing, Marion Woods, Independence Hill 3rd Edition, and Forest Hills were all without power. Hang in there everyone!
Street lights are down on the southbound lanes at Grant Street and US 30. There are also power poles leaning that have been reported to NIPSCO. Be careful everyone and never touch or go near a power line or downed pole.
Go Team Merrillville! -Rick Bella, Town Council President, Ward 5 Representative
