The home where the explosion originated is completely destroyed; two others directly beside that house were seriously damaged.
The blast was followed by a fire that was quickly extinguished. Emergency personnel were on the scene trying to handle the situation and fight flames in water 3-4 feet deep.
Some homes in the area have power while others don't.
There were no reports of injuries. The homes were evacuated days ago after heavy rain.
NIPSCO was called to the scene but could not confirm whether the explosion was natural gas related.
"All of a sudden, we heard the incredibly loud boom. And there was an immense fireball and nothing but wood and debris flying everywhere," said Gunnar Carlson, Munster resident.
<"Gas is off in some of the areas," said Tom DeGiulio,, Munster town manager "They can't get to the gas. They can't find the meters, they're so deep under the water in some cases. They've been shutting gas off where they can get to them. This is one of the reasons we don't want people in the houses in these areas, because they can walk back into a house that was vacant and power could be off and everything else off because of the water shutting the things off, but you could have gas leaks and things like that."
<Public safety officials say the conditions that caused the explosion in Munster still exist in dozens, if not hundreds of homes around the region that were affected by flooding over the weekend where basements, especially, were filled with water. That's why they advise homeowners not to re-enter those homes until after they are checked out by the local gas company.
<