Oakland City Storm Update

New information from the National Weather Service in Paducah
Via the National Weather Service Paducah


A complex of severe thunderstorms affected southwest Indiana and northwest Kentucky on Tuesday evening.

• The hardest hit area was in eastern Gibson County, where baseball to grapefruit-size hail reportedly injured people at a parade in Oakland City. Damaging winds from Oakland City to Mackey destroyed a barn, damaged roofs, and uprooted numerous trees. Roads were blocked by debris, including State Route 57.
• The severe storms continued south across Warrick County, where golf-ball size hail and tree damage was reported from Chandler to Newburgh.
• The severe storms continued south between Henderson and Owensboro, producing strong winds and hail. 

...DAMAGE SURVEY RESULTS FOR GIBSON COUNTY INDIANA MACROBURST...

THE FOLLOWING IS THE PRELIMINARY DAMAGE ASSESSMENT FOR
THE OAKLAND CITY AREA IN GIBSON COUNTY.

* EVENT TYPE.........MACROBURST

* EVENT DATE.........TUESDAY JULY 31 2012

* EVENT TIME.........615 PM TO 630 PM CDT

* EVENT LOCATION.....OAKLAND CITY TO 3 MILES SOUTH OF BUCKSKIN

* PEAK WIND..........110 MPH

* AVG. PATH WIDTH....3.5 MILES

* PATH LENGTH........12 MILES

* INJURIES...........4 TREATED...3 DUE TO HAIL AND 1 DUE TO WIND

* FATALITIES.........0

* DAMAGE DETAIL......THOUSANDS OF TREES SNAPPED OR UPROOTED. 78
   HOMES/BUSINESSES WITH MAJOR DAMAGE...SUCH AS LOSS OF ROOF
   DECKING OR PORCHES. 249 WITH MINOR DAMAGE SUCH AS LOSS OF
   SHINGLES OR MINOR SIDING LOSS. DOZENS OF BARNS/SHEDS HEAVILY
   DAMAGED OR DESTROYED. MAJOR HAIL DAMAGE TO MANY
   HOMES...PRIMARILY IN OAKLAND CITY. ALL 4 INJURIES OCCURRED IN
   OAKLAND CITY.


Old info

Here is the latest this morning from Oakland City. 65 people were injured last night when the hail core of the storm went into Oakland City during the Sweet Corn Parade.  Good news is only minor injuries to report of when the hail sizes were golf ball to baseball size hail. There have been reports that there was a tornado reported on the East Side of town. I cannot confirm that at this time until we get an update from the National Weather Service later today. Indiana State Police is only allowing resident of Oakland City with the proper id to enter the town. A curfew was in place last night until 6AM this morning. According to 14 News, the curfew could be put back into effect again tonight from 10PM until 6AM Thursday. 

A meeting was held this morning at 8AM at the Oakland City Fire Department. This is what happened at the meeting:

·         Oakland City official announced a declaration of emergency

·         Possibly two days without power in some parts of town

·         Stay off the streets for the clean-up process to be quicker and get things back to normal

·         Asking citizens to conserve as much water as needed

·         Nursing home will not be evacuated, but watching residents and bringing in generators

·         Shelter is set up at the Oakland City University Student Life building

·         Food and drinks are available at the fire station and city park

The Oakland City Deaconess Clinic is closed today because of the loss of power, but the will try to reopen on Thursday. If you had an appointment for today, you are asked to call 812-749-6187 on Thursday to reschedule it. The Red Cross has said they will be opening a Service Center at the Oakland City University Student Life Center.

If any resident have any issues or questions, you are asked to call the fire department at 812-749-4037.

Another update to pass along, the Warrick County 911 system is back up and running this morning after it took a hit last night.

The next meeting will be at Noon. EvansvilleWatch and I will have updates as they do come in during the day and I will have a full report again tomorrow.