( CNN ) -- It must be a bomb . That was Debbie Wagner 's first thought when she heard the boom as she lay in bed overnight Saturday in her home on Indianapolis ' Southside . Downstairs , she found a ceiling fan plunged to the floor , glass shattered , and the deadbolt of her front door blown open -- not even knowing then her garage doors had been blown in . Only later did Wagner and her husband Andy learn that , among their neighbors , they were some of the lucky ones . A huge explosion had pierced the nighttime silence and ripped through the streets before characterized by solid two-story homes , garages and lawns . Two adults were killed , while seven others went to area hospitals , due to the explosion and related fires , said Deputy Chief Kenny Bacon of the Indianapolis Fire Department . Aerial video showed the significant material cost as well , with only the foundations remaining of some homes , others left charred , and dozens more homes like the Wagners ' suffering damage of all different sorts . `` The house felt like it was shaking , your chest was shaking , '' Wagner told CNN affiliate WISH . `` It 's like nothing that you 've ever experienced . '' Fire department spokeswoman Bonnie Hensley said early Sunday that two houses sitting next to one another blew up . But hours later , authorities still had n't determined , publicly at least , why they did . Citizens Energy spokesman Dan Considine said Sunday there were no reports of gas smells prior to the blast . While the personal and physical toll was enormous , some officials are counting their blessings and crediting the prompt , extensive response from public safety authorities -- plus the good fortune that some locals were away for the night -- with preventing even more bloodshed . `` It was a massive explosion , '' said Troy Riggs , the city 's director of public safety . `` ... But it could have been much worse . '' Soon after it happened , first responders swarmed on the area -- some of them in shorts and tennis shoes , having apparently rushed to the scene right away , said Riggs . At one point , 60 to 70 firefighters were on site to control blazes and prevent more , according to Bacon . Their other primary duty was to round up residents , as crews `` did at least a primary , secondary and tertiary search of every home '' to clear people out , he said . About 200 neighbors eventually made their way to nearby Mary Bryan Elementary School , where doctors and paramedics checked each one , said Bacon . Wagner described the predominant feeling among her neighbors as sorrow . `` People are just ... in shock , because it is such a surreal thing , '' she said . After the sun rose Sunday morning , the devastation became more stark and painful . Authorities went door to door at 126 properties in the neighborhood , dividing them into a few simple categories : `` OK '' for those with cosmetic and survivable damage , other designations for those with an uncertain future , or those that were a lost cause . Eighty homes were somehow affected , said Adam Collins , the deputy code enforcement director for the city , causing an estimated $ 3.6 million in damage . Most of these had minor damage , in the form of broken glass , torn-off siding or garage door damage , that did n't make their homes uninhabitable . Another 31 suffered what Collins called `` major damage '' -- meaning , for most of them , it 's still to be determined if they can be lived in again . Inspectors know for sure that five can not , as they are `` either gone or will require a demolition . '' Riggs said he expects authorities will discover more damage , and residents will have to deal with more headaches and heartache in the coming weeks . Handing out his cell phone number to those affected , he promised them they would n't be alone . `` We understand that their lives are upside down , '' Riggs said . `` We 're going to do everything we can to help ( re- ) establish their lives , and go forward . '' CNN 's Jake Carpenter , AnneClaire Stapleton and Greg Botelho contributed to this report .
Seven go to hospitals after the late-night blast in an Indianapolis neighborhood , officials say . The explosion occurred at about 11:45 p.m. on a street near East 56th Street and South Meridian Avenue. `` People are just ... in shock , because it is such a surreal thing , '' a resident says .