Town thrashed by tornado has no siren warning system

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By Beth Boehne

BLOOMFIELD, Ind. (AP) — A town trying to clean up more than $1 million in damage from a tornado that ravaged a four-mile swath of land has no siren system to warn residents of approaching severe weather.

Greene County Emergency Management Agency Director Roger Axe said efforts to install a countywide alert system have been stymied by budget constraints.

The nearby towns of Linton and Worthington have sirens, but Bloomfield relies on sheriff's department dispatches, faxes to business and schools and tone-alerts sent via weather radio to warn residents of impending storms.

"A siren system is good, it would do a lot of things, but it is not a panacea," Axe said.

But he said he would raise the issue with the Greene County Council.

About a dozen homes in the town 40 miles southeast of Terre Haute were heavily damaged or destroyed by the tornado on Tuesday night, according to the American Red Cross. No one was seriously injured.

The tornado was part of severe storms that hit the state this week. Residents also were dealing with heavy rain and melting snow that caused several major rivers to flood and dense fog that officials believe contributed to six deaths in northwestern Indiana.

Three of the deaths happened Monday night, authorities believe, when a car plunged into a flooded quarry after missing a stop sign in dense fog. On Thursday, a crane pulled the car with the bodies from the normally dry quarry in Kentland about 40 miles northwest of Lafayette.

Al Shipe of the National Weather Service said flooding of the Wabash, White and Tippecanoe rivers would continue over the next week. Over the weekend, the Wabash was expected to crest in Terre Haute and the White River was expected to crest in Bloomfield, he said.

"It's not over by a long shot," he said.

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Information from: The Herald-Times, http://www.heraldtimesonline.com

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