The town of Merrillville says it's seeking a disaster declaration, following last week's tornado. That would let the town and its residents get financial help to repair the damage — like Federal Emergency Management Agency funding, U.S. Small Business Administration loans and help from the State Disaster Relief Fund.
As a first step, local government and emergency officials will have to gather damage information and send it to the Indiana Department of Homeland Security. Then, the governor could declare a state of emergency, and if federal help is needed, FEMA could conduct a preliminary damage assessment.
The National Weather Service says an EF-1 tornado touched down shortly before 9:00 p.m. last Friday near Taft, south of U.S. 30 and headed northeast for 4.2 miles to the area of Colorado and 73rd — damaging homes and blowing down trees along the way.