Hamilton Township Volunteer Fire Department

05/31/2026

Here is some very important information from Jackson County Dispatch.

05/21/2026

Turn around, Don't drown...seems like a repeated saying everytime the river gets out. If a road has water acrossed it, please consider it closed! There is no need to put yourself and rescuers in danager. Not to mention damage to your vehicle and a fine to go with it. Hamilton Township Volunteer Fire Department, alomg with our automatic and mutual aid departments have responded to 2 water rescues today. Be responsible and take a few extra minutes to find an alternate way around.

Jackson County Dispatch
Redding Twp Volunteer Fire Department
Brownstown Fire Rescue
Jackson County EMS
Jackson County Sheriffs Department
Indiana Conservation Officers
Indiana State Police

05/21/2026

One of our favorite days of the year is field day for Cortland Elementary School. The kids enjoyed cooling off with water after their busy day of activities! Thank you for having us!

05/03/2026

If you had damage from last weeks storms, please contact IDHS.

Residents of Jackson County are asked to contact Indiana 211 by calling 2-1-1 (or 866-211-9966) or by going to on.in.gov/IN-211 to report storm damage from the severe storm and tornadoes that occurred on April 27, 2026.

Collecting assessments via this process will help the Indiana Department of Homeland Security determine damage estimates and develop the next course of action in the disaster recovery process.

Currently, only residents in Jackson County should utilize Indiana 211 for April 27 damage reports. Other counties should reach out to their local emergency manager.

All agriculture damages need to be reported to the local USDA Farm Service Agency contact. If you don't who your contact is, the USDA has a location tool.
farmers.gov/working-with-us/service-center-locator

04/30/2026

Tornado path length has beem extended to include areas along County Road 1000 North and County Road 600 East, North East of Bobtown.

After additional analysis and collaboration with our emergency management partners in Jackson County, we have extended the tornado track from 4/27 to the northeast about 1.5 miles.

04/29/2026

Now that things have calmed down for a bit we want to take time and thank our community for coming together in this time of need. We are greatful that no injures or deaths occurred. Our thoughts and prayers are with those who are personally effected by this storm and have many months of recovery ahead of them.

This storm came up very fast and dropped a tornado before any tornado warning could be issued. Hamilton Township Volunteer Fire Department was initially dispatched for a tree in wires, while responding to this incident, our responders came upon multiple areas of damaged structures, trees, and blocked roadways due to utility poles and wires. Additional manpower was requested from Pershing Township Volunteer Fire Department Inc., Redding Twp Volunteer Fire Department, and Brownstown Fire Rescue. Residents where checked on, roadways cleared, or barricaded off for the safety of everyone. Jackson County Dispatch did a great job of dispatching needed resources and handling contacting utility companies for responders to get the recovery phase started. Jackson County Highway Department provided barricades to close roads and assisted with tree removal.

Jackson County Emergency Management responded and assisted with coordinating needed resources and damage assessments. The NWS responded on Tuesday and conducted a storm survey and determined an EF-1 tornado struck the area.

At this time Jackson Couny REMC and Hoosier Energy are working to repair/replace downed utility poles and restore power. Please stay out of these areas so they can work safely and quickly. Also, please do not drive around looking at damage.

04/28/2026

Here is the damage survey for the tornado North of Cortland:
..NWS Damage Survey for 04/28/2026 Jackson County Tornado...

Rating: EF1
Estimated Peak Wind: 105 mph
Path Length /statute/: 2.16 miles
Path Width /maximum/: 100 yards
Fatalities: 0
Injuries: 0

Start Date: 04/27/2026
Start Time: 04:44 PM EDT
Start Location: 6 WNW Seymour / Jackson County / IN
Start Lat/Lon: 39.0029 / -85.9813

End Date: 04/27/2026
End Time: 04:47 PM EDT
End Location: 4 SW Jonesville / Jackson County / IN
End Lat/Lon: 39.0182 / -85.9462

Survey Summary:
The tornado touched down just east of County Road 300E south of
its intersection with County Road 875N where multiple hardwood
trees were snapped about 15 to 20 ft above ground. Additional tree
damage was found along County Road 875N and County Road 375E. The
tornado moved northeast and caused substantial damage to barns and
to at least one home along County Roads 900N and 925N. Two barns
were destroyed with several others sustaining roof damage. The
tornado weakened and then lifted near County Road 500E a short
distance north of County Road 925N. The tornado may not have been
on the ground continuously for the whole track.

Additional straight line wind damage was found about one to two
miles to the south-southeast of the tornado track. 30 to 40 power
poles were either snapped or leaning along County Road 800N
between County Road 400E and County Road 500E, and along County
ROad 500E for over a mile to the north. A building at the Rose
Acre Farms had its roof ripped off in multiple spots. A few barns
had roof damage within this area as well. Peak gusts within this
area of straight line winds were up to 100 mph.

&&

EF Scale: The Enhanced Fujita Scale classifies tornadoes into the
following categories:

EF0.....65 to 85 mph
EF1.....86 to 110 mph
EF2.....111 to 135 mph
EF3.....136 to 165 mph
EF4.....166 to 200 mph
EF5.....>200 mph

04/28/2026

NWS has confirmed an EF-1 tornado struck our area yesterday. Our thoughts and prayers are with those who suffered damage from these storms.

04/28/2026

🚨🚨Update Road Closures🚨🚨

The followong sections of roads will be closed for an undetermined amount of time:

County Road 400 East North of Cortland School to County Road 875 North

County Road 800 North between County Road 400 East and County Road 550 East.

County Road 500 East between County Road 1000 North and County Road 800 North.

Please avoid this area as Jackson County REMC and other utility companies work to repair the power lines.

04/28/2026

The area just North of Cortland took a direct hit from these storms. There are multiple power lines down, along with transmission lines and some structural damage. There are many county roads that are currently closed. Please avoid these areas and help our power crews by staying out of their way. Beaware of debris in the roadways that may still be present.

Roads that are closed:
800 North between 400 East and 550 East
500 East between 800 North and 925 North
875 North between 375 East and 200 East