Residents escape injury when tree falls onto 2 Indiana homes

JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (AP) - Southern Indiana authorities say residents inside two homes were lucky they escaped injury when a towering oak tree toppled onto both homes.

A pin oak that stood about 100 feet (30 meters) tall fell Monday afternoon in Jeffersonville, striking two residences, both of which had people inside.

Betty Cook tells the News and Tribune she was in her living room when she heard a cracking sound only seconds before the tree crashed through another part of her home. She escaped unharmed with her two dogs.

Jeffersonville Fire Department Sgt. Justin Ames says the fallen tree was "absolutely ginormous" and the residents were very lucky they weren't injured when it fell in the Ohio River city just north of Louisville, Kentucky.

Ames says soils in Jeffersonville are saturated from recent rainfall.

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Information from: News and Tribune, Jeffersonville, Ind., http://www.newsandtribune.com