AVON, Ind. — A wave of severe storms crashed through the Midwest on Tuesday, forcing residents in central Indiana to flee their homes because of rising floodwaters and to frantically ease the pressure on an earthen dam before a new band of storms came through.
In several states, residents took advantage of a brief break from the weather Tuesday afternoon to clean up from tornadoes and flash floods. Twenty-five homes were destroyed and at least a hundred more damaged in Wisconsin, while 26 families in Illinois were homeless after strong winds tore a roof off an apartment complex.
The storms that pelted the region weakened as they moved east, but the National Weather Service said another wave was expected to hit Iowa, Illinois and Indiana on Tuesday night. Enough moisture remained in the air that if storms developed in the heat, they would likely be downpours, said Jason Puma, a Weather Service meteorologist in Indianapolis.
Residents near Avon, west of Indianapolis, used an earth mover to poke a hole in an earthen dam in hopes of lowering the water level in Indian Head Lake enough that the dam wouldn’t be overwhelmed by more rain and swamp bridges and homes downstream. A huge crater had developed in the side of the dam and muddy brown water lapped the top, prompting the temporary evacuation of 48 homes.
Meanwhile, in southern Wisconsin, officials were trying to figure out why a warning siren in Eagle failed before a tornado hit Monday night. Along with 25 homes that were destroyed, at least 100 were damaged, and one person was injured.
Eagle Fire Chief Justin Heim said all residents were accounted for Tuesday after a door-to- door search. Some, including Heim’s family, had to be pulled from the rubble.
A nuclear power plant near Brownville, Neb., notified public and federal regulators early Tuesday that it was in a low-level emergency state because of Missouri River flooding. There was no threat to Cooper Nuclear Station workers or the public, and the plant will be taken off line if the river rises 3 more feet, said the Nebraska Public Power District.
