Tornado-packing storm destroyed 11 homes in Indiana county

PORTLAND, Ind. (AP) - An official says more than two dozen homes were destroyed or badly damaged by a tornado-packing storm that hit eastern Indiana last weekend.

Jay County Emergency Management Director Ralph Frazee says Sunday's storm destroyed 11 homes and left 16 with major damage. The National Weather Service determined a tornado with peak winds around 130 mph stretched for 39 miles in the largely rural area northeast of Muncie.

Frazee tells The (Muncie) Star Press at least 26 other homes had some damage and that a cost estimate isn't yet available.

Sunday's storm also damaged the Muncie Fieldhouse in that city's downtown. Part of the 89-year-old gymnasium's brick facade fell and punched a large hole in the roof, rupturing sprinkler pipes and causing interior water damage.

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Information from: The Star Press, http://www.thestarpress.com