The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 7

MONDAY, JUNE 4, 1990 THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR A-I TORNADO AFTERMATH Aid for flood, tornado victims may arrive this week cial expenditure could run into the millions as a result of the tornadoes. "As soon as we hear from them (FEMA). we'lC be in a position to start writing checks probably by Thursday," Bayh said, adding that the damage he had seen on a helicopter tour Sunday wa extensive. In Bedford, the governor said, "We've different tornadoes in about 50 spots in the state and hundreds of homes destroyed. That Is significant devastation the worst in a quarter of a century.

"In Petersburg, we saw buildings tossed like chaff in the wind." By CHRIS KING STAR STAFF WRITER Federal financial help should begin to arrive this week for Indiana residents hit by the double disasters of floods and tornadoes this spring. Gov. Evan Bayh and State Emergency Management Director Jerome Hauer said Sunday afternoon that they have begun the formal process of requesting help from federal authorities following the worst damage the state has suffered in 16 years. Bayh's letter to President Bush requested a presidential disaster declaration for 25 southern and central Indiana counties hit by floods or tornado or, in some cases, both types of weather disaster. The new request expands one the governor made last week for 21 counties damaged by floods.

Bayh said federal officials touring damaged portions of Petersburg told him Sunday morning to expect speedy approval by Bush. An organizational meeting of the state and federal emergency management officials has been scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday. Presidential approval of the disaster request would authorize the Federal Emergency Management Agency to send funds to the damaged areas for low-interest small business loans, family grants and temporary housing subsidies. Some of that relief will require state and local matching funds.

When the federal emergency agency awards money for disaster relief, the funds often are earmarked for purposes such as 100 percent subsidies for temporary housing. State and county governments provide a 25 percent match for public assistance funds, and the state pays 25 percent of individual grants. The state's share of the earlier flood relief request had been estimated at $1 million. But Bayh and Hauer said the state's additional finan- mmmwmpmm i lfc I- -a, -i, Y- -0'- vfe -m Vfw 5favw 16 autos in pileup because of dust storm ASSOCIATED PRESS South Bend, Ind. Winds-gusting up to 40 mph stirred black dust from St.

Joseph County farm fields Sunday, creating blackout conditions that caused a 16-car pileup and forced state police to close the U.S. 31 bypass. Visibility was reported near zero on the county's western roads and in parts of Wabash and Fulton counties, also in northern Indiana. Five people were injured in the 16-car accident west of South Bend at about noon, said St. Joseph County dispatcher Diana Bauer.

Dust blowing from nearby fields also caused eye problems among motorists and police officers on the scene, Bauer said. "Even some of our officers are getting their eyes rinsed out," she said. Bauer blamed the dust storms on the area's rich, black soils, known to locals as "muck." "Muck Is really light when It's dry and It just blows," she said. "It's Just like dust. It's Just like a drought.

"If we would just get a downpour of rain, it would be great. Everything would be fine. Until the winds let up the bypass is closed." The National Weather Service in Indianapolis had issued a blowing duet advisory for the north half of Indiana until 7 p.m. Sunday. A wind advisory also had been in effect for north central Indiana.

Wind gusts up to 48 mph were reported in Gary. In South, Bend, sustained winds of 25 to 30 mph and gusts near 40 mph picked up dust from fields that had been cultivated or planted recently, officials said. "They have plowed for their crops and there's really nothing coming up yet." Bauer said. "It's Just blowing right into town. The town is hazy.

Cars are covered." State Police dispatcher Marsha MlekodaJ said the South Bend bypass would remain closed until the dust subsided. "We'll keep it closed until they can see. Right now they can't see anything," she said Sunday afternoon. STAR PHOTO TOM CAT People walk down Pike Street Sunday afternoon in Petersburg, surveying the damage caused by Saturday night's deadly tornadoes. The Indiana National Guard sealed off the town as residents worked to salvage what belongings they could.

Petersburg Despite the tragic loss of life in the Petersburg area, the death toll may have been higher had it, not been for the unselfish efforts' of rescue workers. Emergency' teams from as far away as responded to crisis. The many people displace from their homes also' had a warm place to stay, thanks to the efforts of organizations such as the American Red Cross. William Taylor, for one, was Just grateful to be alive. v- As he continued to wait for someone to arrive and unlock his church, he pointed out that' he only recently celebrated his.

90th birthday. To observe the event and as a gesture of his intentions to stick around this life for a long time to' come, he planted a young apple tree In his backyard. "The tree survived'' the, storm, he said, smiling. "That's a good sign." aged by the storm. But there was no time to dwell on it Sunday.

"It's Just one of them things," Cooper said, while taking a brief rest under a shade tree across from the Petersburg fire department. "You Just laugh and go ahead. You can't do anything else." Cleanup crews and local homeowners, meanwhile, began the backbreaklng work of removing debris and downed trees. The air was filled with the grinding sound of chain saws. These efforts were hampered by the the masses of curiosity, seekers who strolled the debris-strewn streets with their movie cameras.

Their presence irked Audrey Butler of nearby Washington, who was -in a bad mood anyway after a police roadblock on Ind. 57 kept her from reaching Petersburg, where her two daughters reside. "I should have told the police officer 1 wasn't sightseeing. I wanted to see where my kids were." resembled a war zone Sunday, an image heightened by the sight of fatigue-clad National Guard troops and the sound of squawking hand-held radios. The troops had been called In to maintain order and prevent iooting of the many stores with exposed roofs and windows.

Shortly after the storm struck Saturday night, several people apparently intent on taking financial advantage of the crisis were chased away from downtown businesses, state police said. Residents of a nursing home called the Petersburg Health Care Center had perhaps the most harrowing experience. Dozens of elderly residents were trapped Inside the facility when the storm hit shortly after 8 p.m. One man reportedly suffered a head Injury. Authorities, however, credited the quick work of the nursing home staff for limiting the number of casualties.

Staffers moved the residents Jnto the main corridor, away from the windows, and did a good Job of keeping the frightened seniors from panicking. The tornado seemed to choose its targets arbitrarily. A hardware store was reduced to rubble while another building next to it appeared virtually untouched. Another example was the century-old First United Methodist Church, which, unlike the nearby Presbyterian church attended by William Taylor, suffered considerable damage. Staring In disbelief at his church's ravaged belfry and steeple, the Rev.

Leslie McKown offered a candid observation. "As Christian people, we say it's not what you have. It's who you are and what your relationship is with God. Not the material possessions. "But you still hate to see them go." Lowry Cooper could empathize with that.

The Pike County coroner's home was badly dam Continued from Page 1 broke a main that supplies water to Petersburg and surrounding towns. Petersburg residents coped with the shortage of fresh water through rationing and boiling of muddy tap water. Service was slowly being restored there was at least enough water to flush the toilets when Saturday's storm put the situation, at least temporarily, back to square one. "I think Mother Nature decided to wipe us off the map," said one bleary-eyed emergency medical technician who had worked through the night transporting the injured to area hospitals. The sudden run of misfortune made sadly ironic the large chamber of commerce sign that greets Incoming motorists on Ind.

57. "You'll like Pike County," it says. Parts of downtown Petersburg Tornado Night of terror leaves 8 dead in 3 counties Continued from Page 1 and the nearby town of Union. The other Saturday deaths were In Bedford and Putnam County. "Petersburg looks like It was hit by a bomb.

It's a lot worse than I assumed. This town has suffered more than any town has in a lifetime." said Phillip K. Roberts, a deputy director of the state Emergency Management Agency. Other hard-hit areas included Lawrence. Ripley.

Dearborn, Vermillion and Montgomery counties. In Bedford, In Lawrence County, mobile homes In two parks were knocked over and about a dozen businesses were destroyed. One was the Red Rooster Restaurant, where a tornado smashed Into the building and injured 27 people. A 1 -year-old boy died In Bedford when a tornado hit the mobile home he and his mother were in. In adjoining Jackson County, tornadoes which typically pack winds of more than 100 mph caused an estimated $1 million in losses, damaging or destroying about 80 rural homes.

The twin tornadoes that hit the area passed several miles several rooms in a hotel in Jackson County for homeless victims, but only one family stayed at the hotel Saturday night and they paid their own way, a Salvation Army spokesman said. In Putnam County, a 58-year-old woman was killed when her mobile home was lifted from its foundation by a tornado and hurled 50 feet. Three members of a Montgomery County family and a relative were hospitalized after a tornado hit their mobile home, leaving little but a hole. rankle Leslie, 42, was listed Sunday in stable condition in the intensive care unit of AMI Culver Union Hospital, Craw-fordsville, where her husband, James, 42, was in stable condition. A daughter of the couple and a granddaughter also were in stable condition.

The tornadoes generally moved from west to east. One tornado swept out of Illinois and plowed through the small town of Saint Bernice, near the state line in Vermillion County. About 15 homes in Saint Bernice and a gas station were damaged or destroyed by the tornado. One Saint Bernice woman whose house was badly damaged said she and her husband ducked into a corner of a bedroom when they heard the winds roar. "He Just kept saying, 'Get down, get down, get To hear all that crashing of the house and not knowing if It would come down on you it was awful," said Dorothy M.

Dorfmejjer. mL STAR STAFF PHOTO RON IRA STEELE aged or destroyed as well as nu-, merous mobile homes. )m PUTNAM One person was killed and several houses and mobile homes were destroyed or damaged. RIPLEY Four houses, four, mobile homes and one church, were demolished and 42 homes damaged. About 50 barns and-other buildings were destroyed, or damaged.

DEARBORN About 57 homes were demolished and 1 50. homes damaged. Three pcoplie were hospitalized. VERMILLION Two homes were destroyed and 15-20 houses received minor St. Bernice was the worst area In the county.

MONTGOMERY Three houses were destroyed and an apartment complex suffered se- vere roof damage as the tornado! ripped through area Just east of Crawfordsville, barely missing the county seat. JENNINGS A tornado dam-" aged a mobile home and more-than three house and a plastic plant near North Vernon. N(r se" rlous Injuries reported. JACKSON A tornado (Its troyed 22 houses and 15 mobile homes and damaged 48 houses and six mobile homes. Seven people were treated for Injuries and two hospitalized.

Wide; spread agricultural damage was reported. The town of Owen feied the worst damage In the county. Authorities on Sunday identified the eight people who were killed In Saturday evening tornados. Killed were: Frank Malott and his wife. Marjorie, who were killed when a tornado struck their home near Union In Pike County.

Emma Willis of Petersburg. Albin Harper, 66, of Petersburg. Blllie Minniear, 74, of Petersburg. Giles Evans, 89, of Petersburg. Benjamin Ray, 1, an occupant of a mobile home struck by a tornado In Bedford.

Doris D. Gerholdt, 56, an occupant of a mobile home struck by a tornado near Roach-dale In Putnam County. Many of the hardest-hit communities In Saturdays tornadoes were In these Indiana counties: PIKE Six people were killed and 50 Injured during the storm that left Petersburg by far the worst hit town in the tornado. At least 150 homes were destroyed and another 120 were damaged when the tornado cyclone ripped a 5-mile-long path from the town's southwest corner to Its northeastern boundaries, said Al Miller, field operations coordinator for the State Emergency Management Agency. LAWRENCE One person was killed and 54 were Injured by a tornado that struck the south side of Bedford! More than a dozen businesses were dam Mildred Leslie of Darlington views with disbelief the tornado-destroyed Crawfordsville mobile home in which her son, daughter-in-law and two other relatives were injured.

with the National Weather Service at Indianapolis. The cool weather system dropped down from Canada with winterlike force, colliding with the moisture-laden summer system and creating vertical wind shear, high-altitude turbulence and other conditions that easily ripen into tornadoes, DeLlsl said. "All of those things came together with that particular storm. It was an unusual event." Officials suggested people wishing to donate to storm victims may make cash contributions to the Red Cross. The Dorfmeyers escaped unscathed, as did their son's family, whose next-door home was wrecked by the same tornado.

"None of us got a scratch. We are fine and I am grateful for that," said Mrs. Dorfmeyer, who said neighbors baked her a cake Sunday with the message "Gone with the wind" written In the icing. The tornadoes were spawned by conflicting weather systems, one cool and one warm, that clashed over the Midwest, said Mark V. DcLlsl, a meteorologist north of Seymour, the largest city in the area.

In Jackson, as in other counties, most of the people left homeless by the tornados sought refuge with relatives or friends. The Salvation Army reserved.