A tree bending under ice. Muncie, U.S.A.

Recovering from disaster in Muncie

Muncie (Indiana, U.S.A.) is recovering from two massive ice storms that happened in the past few weeks.

A massive snowfall happened on 25 December, canceling many holiday plans. Then on 1 January a massive ice storm left more than 100,000 electricity customers without power, sending many to emergency shelters. These storms continued for the next few days.

On the night of 5 January, in particular, the night sky was filled with green flashes from power lines shorting out and transformers exploding around the city. Sleep for many was interrupted frequently by thunderous electrical surges and the loud crashing of branches and entire trees buckling from the weight of the ice.

In response, the city and county proclaimed a state of emergency. The emergency proclamation requested citizens to stay off the streets to protect themselves from electrocution from the more than 3,000 downed power lines.

Law enforcement agencies were authorized to enforce state statutory law and make arrests to expedite the restoration of services and utilities to the community. Emergency medical services were set up, and a federal agency opened a Disaster Recovery Center to address area citizens with their ice storm-related disaster claims.

In the next few weeks, work crews will be focusing their continued efforts on removing brush. Due to soggy ground keeping heavy equipment out, much of the clearing and loading will have to be done by hand.

ICLEI is currently undertaking a project to assess the usefulness and usability of disaster risk management tools for local governments. For more information, please contact resilient.communities@iclei.org.

Muncie is one of 66 local governments in the U.S.A. that are currently Members of ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability. To learn more about ICLEI and its activities in the U.S.A., please visit www.iclei.org/usa.