BLOOMFIELD - For the second time in a week, powerful winter thunderstorms produced at least one tornado in Indiana as they marched across the state, damaging homes and buildings.
The basement of Ball State University's North Quad experienced flooding when water from the rain seeped into the building late Tuesday or early Wednesday, said Kevin Kenyon, associate vice president of facilities planning and management.
"With the rain we've had the last few days, I'm surprised that's the only building it's happened in," Kenyon said.
The water leaked through a crack in the foundation, he said.
"Water will find a crack if there is one," he said. "It's not plumbing or anything like that. It's an old building with a concrete foundation. Over time, cracks can develop."
Kenyon said he was not aware of any damage to the building that the water would have caused.
Elsewhere in the state, the unseasonable rainfalls have had more of an effect.
Flooding could cause even more damage as the National Weather Service was warning Wednesday that the Wabash, Tippecanoe and other major rivers are spilling over their banks. High waters might have contributed to at least one death when a vehicle plunged into a water-filled quarry.
In Greene County, southwest of Bloomington, a tornado Tuesday night cut a four-mile path through Bloomfield, blowing the roofs off several houses and downing trees and power lines. The National Weather Service also was investigating storm damage in Putnam, Jackson and Decatur counties to see if any other tornadoes touched down.
In Newton County, divers found a vehicle under 56 feet of water in the quarry Wednesday. The car may have plunged into the icy water during the night east of Kentland in northwestern Indiana. Indiana Conservation officers said they believed at least one person was in the vehicle.
A diver wasn't able to open the doors to remove the body, Indiana Conservation officers said in a statement. The recovery effort was postponed until the quarry's owners could pump out the water, Conservation Officer Matt Tholen said.
In Putnam County west of Indianapolis, the storm tore the roof off a fire station in Bainbridge and destroyed its radio tower. Barns and mobile homes also were damaged, along with several utility trailers. An 80 mph wind gust was reported in Clinton in Vermillion County in western Indiana.
The storms followed unseasonably high daytime temperatures in the 60s, and were generated by the same system that produced tornadoes blamed for more than 50 deaths in the South.
But flooding was the main concern in Indiana, as rain up to 3 inches and melting snow are causing rivers to spill into some of the same low-lying areas hit hard last month.
Fountain County emergency management officials went door-to-door warning residents along the Wabash River that if the level continues to rise, they may have to evacuate. Officials in Carroll and White counties in northern Indiana also urged people along the Tippecanoe to voluntarily evacuate their homes.
The Wabash level near Lafayette in late afternoon was 22.07 feet, said John Kwiatkowski, weather service meteorologist.
The river swelled over its banks to just over 22 feet last month. Al Shipe, a hydrologist with the weather service, said it would likely crest between 24 and 25 feet. If the river gets 2 or 3 feet higher than it did in January, there could be significant flooding, he said, the worst between Lafayette and Terre Haute.
Kwiatkowski said smaller streams would go down, but those who live near larger rivers would see problems get worse. Portions of several state roads were closed in northwestern Indiana, and countless county roads were under water.
The weather service said the Wabash could reach its highest flood level since January 2005 when it crested at 25.03 feet and that major flooding was expected along the Tippecanoe River.
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