LOCAL

Fieldhouse, neighborhoods damaged by severe storms

The west side of the Muncie Fieldhouse as seen from the inside. Daylight pours in a massive hole in the ceiling as a ruptured sprinkler line, believed to be at least a 4 inch pipe, pours water onto the upper level bleachers and, ultimately, onto the floor.

MUNCIE, Ind. — Local authorities speculated a tornado might have touched down near the Muncie Fieldhouse in downtown Muncie on Sunday afternoon. Ultimately, whether it was a tornado or not will matter very little in dealing with the substantial damage.

The brick facade at the top of the Fieldhouse on the west side of the structure was presumably blown onto the roof. That collapse punctured an enormous hole in the roof, and ultimately ruptured sprinkler pipes — some as big as 4 inches wide — which resulted in massive amounts of water pouring into the storied structure.

The Star Press was granted access to see the damage with Muncie Mayor Dennis Tyler and Muncie Fire Department Chief Eddie Bell. 

"A lot of devastation on the west end of the roof and sprinkler system water line is also broke open and sending thousands of gallons of water a minute in there," Tyler said after first seeing the interior of the Fieldhouse.

Built in 1928, the Fieldhouse was renovated in 1983, and the floor was renovated – and renamed “Bill Harrell Court” – in 2011.

The scoreboard at the Muncie Central football stadium was also destroyed in the storm.

Muncie Community Schools announced via Twitter Sunday night that classes were canceled Monday for grades K-8, and Central students would have an e-learning day.

The Fieldhouse was not the only structure impacted by the severe weather that ripped through the area Sunday afternoon, especially near downtown.

Said Tyler, "We have major wind and storm damage over in the McKinley Neighborhood as far over as the Dailey Apartments along Bunch Boulevard in the Whitely area. Probably millions of dollars of worth of damage right now the way we're looking at it."

City Hall was opened as a shelter for anyone who needed it.

Numerous trees, limbs and utility lines were down around and near the Fieldhouse, on the north end of downtown Muncie, and in the McKinley neighborhood to its east.There was no immediate confirmation of a tornado touchdown in Muncie; a spokesman for the National Weather Service in Indianapolis said they had reports from the public and trained spotters of wind damage around Muncie and Delaware County, but would have to do a storm survey later to determine if a tornado had occurred. Local authorities said at the very least powerful straight-line winds did significant damage in the McKinley area, and also on the city's west side, where several trees and more power lines were reported down.

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The occupant of a home in the 400 block of North Taft Road was trapped for a time after a tree crashed through her roof and into her house. She escaped injury, and was rescued by emergence personnel. 

A home on North Elm Street was also reported to be severely damaged by a tree that fell on it. Still another tree fell on a home in the 500 block of North Bittersweet Lane.

The heavy rains also flooded city streets, and authorities were called to some intersections to make water rescues. Authorities urged residents to stay off city streets and roads. 

Power was out in the McKinley neighborhood in the wake of the storm, and the area was in near-total darkness at 6 p.m. It was difficult to navigate streets in the neighborhood. High water at some intersections was not visible until a vehicle was already in the water, and several streets were closed with barricades, apparently due to downed limbs and utility lines nearby.

When the downpour was perhaps at its heaviest, dispatchers received a report of a serious traffic accident near Eucalyptus Avenue and Delaware County 500-W. Two people — one of them extricated from the car — were taken by ambulance to IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital.

There were also reports of trees downed in the Yorktown area as well as roof damage to some homes. Yorktown Schools announced this evening that it will operate on a 2-hour delay on Monday.

Delaware County dispatchers estimated they had received 70-80 storm-related calls by 5 p.m. Many involved trees or limbs that had downed power lines. Others were from motorists whose cars became disabled when they drove into deep water.

As is often the case during thunderstorms, several fire and burglary alarms in the area were also activated. No storm-related injuries had been reported in Delaware County.

Despite recent renovations, there was standing water in the Madison Street underpass after the heavy rains, but not nearly so much as in the past.

 

Power outages were reported at several locations in Delaware County. Indiana Michigan Power reported 9,591 customers in Delaware County were without power as of 10 p.m.

Another 5,780 customers in Blackford County and 2,493 in Jay County were without power as of 10 p.m.