SOUTH-CENTRAL INDIANA–South-central Indiana is still reeling this morning from a brief Thursday afternoon thunderstorm that packed a mean punch. Many residents are still without power across early today the area and debris remains scattered across roadways. At the Columbus airport, winds lifted the large “Spirit of Columbus” DC-3 aircraft and carried it about 200 yards. As a result of the storm, thousands of residents in the area lost power.
Chip Orben, spokesperson for Duke Energy, said as of 7:30 a.m., on Friday, roughly 1,900 customers of its customers in Bartholomew County are still without power. That number is down to approximately 300 in Brown County. He encourages residents to call 1-800-343-3525, if they need power restored. Work crews went back out this morning to assess the remaining damage and outages. Orben says they appreciate everyone’s patience and guarantees that Duke Energy crews are working safely and responsibly to return their facilities to service.
Bartholomew County REMC’s Marty Lasure says that their crews returned to work at 8:00 a.m. today, after a mandatory rest period due to early morning showers. At their highest, she says over 3,000 customers were without power. That number is now down to an estimated 130. Lasure commends the job that work crews have done in the past 24 hours. Additionally, extra workers from Boone and Johnson Counties have been assisting with repair efforts.