West Side of Bloomington Hit Hard by Storms
By: WMBD/WYZZ-TV
Updated: August 10, 2012
BLOOMINGTON- Heavy winds and golf ball sized hail blew through west Bloomington around 3 p.m. Thursday.
Rooftops, walls and even some vehicles were blown over. Many buildings received significant damage.
"The gust blew pieces of this door into the back door. So it blew all the way to through the building," said Steve Young, owner of Wherry Machine and Wielding.
Young stood in disbelief as the twenty-foot garage door to his building detached and landed multiple feet away.
"I still don't really know what happened. It just, it wasn't even bad and then it just exploded. The building literally exploded," he said.
Right next door, a trucking company was hit hard. At least ten semi trucks were ruined. Bricks fell on some, shattering windows. Each vehicle will cost around $125,000 to replace.
"It blew all the trailers over. The cars and the vans. I mean it moved all that. It was placed in the parking lot," Young said.
Authorities think it was strong straight line winds, not a tornado. Some people told authorities they saw a tornado touch down. But authorities said that has not been confirmed. No injuries were reported, but the effects of the damage could be felt instantly.
Homes were damaged too. Andrea Kurth, lives along Route 9, west of the Mitsubishi Motorway intersection. She was inside the home with her dog when the storm hit.
"At first I wasn't too worried. But it just started coming down. Louder. Louder, louder, louder and eventually I got real scared," she said. "It really didn't seem like that long. It just got real bad, real fast."
Authorities closed off the roadways near Kurth's home. Many storm victims began burning debris in efforts to clean, but the Bloomington fire chief asked anyone impacted refrain from burning. Bloomington is currently under a burn ban.
Rooftops, walls and even some vehicles were blown over. Many buildings received significant damage.
"The gust blew pieces of this door into the back door. So it blew all the way to through the building," said Steve Young, owner of Wherry Machine and Wielding.
Young stood in disbelief as the twenty-foot garage door to his building detached and landed multiple feet away.
"I still don't really know what happened. It just, it wasn't even bad and then it just exploded. The building literally exploded," he said.
Right next door, a trucking company was hit hard. At least ten semi trucks were ruined. Bricks fell on some, shattering windows. Each vehicle will cost around $125,000 to replace.
"It blew all the trailers over. The cars and the vans. I mean it moved all that. It was placed in the parking lot," Young said.
Authorities think it was strong straight line winds, not a tornado. Some people told authorities they saw a tornado touch down. But authorities said that has not been confirmed. No injuries were reported, but the effects of the damage could be felt instantly.
Homes were damaged too. Andrea Kurth, lives along Route 9, west of the Mitsubishi Motorway intersection. She was inside the home with her dog when the storm hit.
"At first I wasn't too worried. But it just started coming down. Louder. Louder, louder, louder and eventually I got real scared," she said. "It really didn't seem like that long. It just got real bad, real fast."
Authorities closed off the roadways near Kurth's home. Many storm victims began burning debris in efforts to clean, but the Bloomington fire chief asked anyone impacted refrain from burning. Bloomington is currently under a burn ban.
Comments
I seen a wall cloud at this time right over the area so im sure it was a tornado
mike m.
August 10, 2012 at 1:25 pm
I was there when it hit! I am Pastor of New Life Fellowship, on west Market Street in Bloomington. Uprooted trees, hail and wind damage to our facility and grounds. Our sign was completely destroyed. I saw clear rotation during the worst of it!
Ken M.
August 9, 2012 at 7:58 pm
