Natural Disasters in Central Indiana

It's been a rough week for Central Indiana.
Just last Tuesday and Wednesday the area was hit with severe thunder storms and tornadoes. Among the damaged areas was the town of Moscow, a tiny little town in Rush County that was home to only about 60 people. This is the town where Andy's grandparents and great grandparents had lived for many years. Sharon and Larry lived in Moscow for awhile in the early years of their marriage and still know several people there. Andy's great aunt Evelyn still attends the Moscow Christian Church where she played the organ for 65 years until "retiring" 2 years ago. Also, several deceased family members are buried in Moscow. Many houses in town or close by were badly damaged but several others had only slight damaged, or were left untouched. The tornado's path is very clear in arial shots that appeared in the Indianapolis Star. Larry's elementary school was still there, though unused, and the roof and top floor of the old brick building were taken off. Saddest by far was the loss of the town's 122 year old covered bridge. It was a beautiful landmark that spanned over 200 feet. The bridge accomodated only cars and Amish buggies so it was a great destination for a quiet country drive because there were no big trucks in the area. We've all been saddened by the tornado damage, as Larry said, "Four generations of our family enjoyed that bridge."
Andy was considering a drive to Moscow on Saturday to help clean up after the storm but since it was pouring down rain he decided not to go. It's a good thing he stayed home, at 9am he was called into work. Our sump pump ran almost nonstop all weekend. Franklin and Shelbyville eventually received about 10.5 inches of rain between Friday and Saturday. Flooding has been widespread and treacherous. You can read the details here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25044884.
Andy worked 23 hours straight before coming home to tell me about the damage and to get some rest. Their crews barricaded roads and cleared fallen trees from the roads. They pumped water away from the courthouse and the hospital, too. The flood tore up many roads and bridges and damaged the dams at several lakes south of Franklin. Our favorite park in Franklin, Province Park, lost a bridge and was still under the water of Young's Creek last night. In fact, at Province Park the softball field where Andy and I used to play on a co-ed team was just about ruined. A child's sandbox was on top of the adjacent restroom building and several cars were scattered around the field. One vehicle was resting on the backstop! Many of the houses in downtown Franklin had damage and as we drove through town last night we saw so many people pulling wet carpet and furniture out onto front lawns and just trying to get a grip on the situation.
We are so sad for all of the people dealing with the filth left behind by the flood. It is a sad reminder of the fragility of human life and lifestyle. The rebuilding will take months, at least. Please keep the people in our area in your thoughts and prayers. Some are recovering from both the tornado and the flood!