'Months if not years to recover': 3 killed in Sullivan County as tornadoes sweep Indiana
Multiple tornadoes hit Indiana communities both south and north of Indianapolis late Friday and early Saturday, leaving at least three people in Sullivan County dead and hundreds of homes and buildings damaged or destroyed.
The National Weather Service in Indianapolis said late Saturday that crews have preliminarily identified at least seven tornadoes that hit Indiana. The strongest storms were seen in Sullivan County, in west central Indiana, and Whiteland in Johnson County just south of Indianapolis, NWS science operations officer David Beachler told IndyStar.
Damage was surveyed in Sullivan, Johnson, Howard and Clinton counties Saturday, and crews will continue to work Sunday, possibly surveying Martinsville, the NWS said on Facebook.
Gov. Eric Holcomb visited Sullivan on Saturday afternoon, where he announced he had declared a state of emergency for Sullivan and Johnson counties. About 18 counties in Indiana lost power at some point during the storms, Holcomb said.
"This is an all-hands-on-deck effort and will continue to be," Holcomb said of recovery efforts.
More: How many tornadoes hit Indiana? Here's how National Weather Service confirms reports.
NWS Meteorologist Ted Funk, who also spoke at the Sullivan press conference, said a tornado warning was issued in Sullivan County at 10:08 p.m. Friday, when the storm was in Illinois.
The Sullivan area saw locations with damages from an EF2-level storm with winds between 111 and 135 miles per hour. Some areas were hit by an EF3-level storm with winds between 136 and 165 miles per hour, Funk said. The storm in Sullivan traveled about 8 to 10 miles and was about a quarter of a mile in width, Funk said.
Funk said Indiana has been lucky in recent years with severe weather and tornadoes this time of year. The last "magnitude tornado" Funk said NWS staff could recall was the Henryville tornado in 2012.
"We haven't had anything," he said, "this devastating for quite a while."
Central Indiana remained under a wind advisory most of the day Saturday with possible 50 mph gusts, according to the NWS. Thousands around Indiana were still without power Saturday afternoon.
At least 18 people were reported dead and 900,000 were without power across the U.S. as of Saturday from fierce storms and tornadoes that swept across multiple states in the South and Midwest.
There were at least 40 reports of tornadoes Friday in Arkansas, Iowa, Tennessee, Illinois, Wisconsin and Mississippi, weather.com reported. And more than 28 million people were under a tornado watch at one point Friday, according to the NWS, which declared a level 5 high-risk outlook for severe storms in some areas.
More Storm coverage: Storm brings high winds, tornado warnings to Central Indiana
Sullivan County, Indiana
In Sullivan, a community near the Illinois border and about 30 miles south of Terre Haute, the county sheriff’s office declared a state of emergency Saturday. The city of Sullivan suffered extensive damage due to tornadoes in the area.
The Sullivan County sheriff’s office said “that there is a line of damage covering several miles, starting west of Sullivan in the rural New Lebanon area, extending eastward through Sullivan,” according to a Facebook post.
Sullivan Mayor Clint Lamb said during a press conference Saturday morning about 155 of the county's nearly 200 damaged structures were located in the city. There "is total devastation south of Silver Street" near the Sullivan City Park, Lamb said at the press conference.
"This is going to be a very long process," Lamb said. "It’s going to take months and months if not years to recover from this."
At another press conference Saturday afternoon, Lamb reported the community was still in "search-and-rescue" mode. A curfew was established for areas in the community affected by the storm.
The sheriff's office reported downed power lines and multiple gas leaks in the area Saturday. Around the city, trees blocked roads and sat on top of houses. Debris was scattered in fields.
Anthony Arnold of Washington, Indiana, helped clear debris in one Sullivan neighborhood, along with his wife. Sullivan is "a close place" in his family's heart, he said.
"Just doing God’s work. Woke up this morning and felt like I had to be here.” Arnold said.
Whiteland in Johnson County
According to Whiteland police, the southern part of the town located about 20 miles south of Indianapolis took a “direct hit” around 11:30 p.m. Friday, knocking down power lines and blocking roadways with debris. The National Weather Service has preliminarily classified the tornado that hit there as an EF2 with winds up to 135 mph.
A second, less powerful tornado hit Johnson County south of Bargersville, according to the weather service. It has been classified as an EF0 with peak winds of 85 mph.
Several houses and warehouses in Whiteland were destroyed or received significant damage. Destruction was also seen in parts of Franklin.
Whiteland Fire Chief Eric Funkhauser told the Daily Journal that the winds destroyed at least 10 to 20 homes and left about 20 people in a shelter.
Carolyn Duncan, 81, has been living in her Whiteland home for 21 years and said she’s never experienced anything like this storm.
“I’m in a daze,” Duncan told IndyStar. “It’s like it really didn’t happen.”
Duncan was about to go to bed when she heard the sirens and then heard hard rain pounding on her roof. After that she moved into her bathroom, the only room in the house without windows, while the storm came through and took out most of her windows.
As she surveyed the damage Saturday, Duncan hugged a neighbor whose whole roof was gone and car was thrown across the yard. Duncan asked her if she will be alright.
“I don’t know if I’m going to be, but we will get there,” her neighbor said.
Duncan’s grandson and other family members were helping her collect some belongings before she heads to live with her daughter while her home is repaired. Duncan said she just feels fortunate nothing worse happened to her home.
“I just feel blessed,” Duncan said. “God was with me.”
Marie Davilla was at home with her six family members when she heard the sirens go off. She said she usually doesn’t think anything of tornado sirens but for some reason decided that her family needed to get into the bathroom.
“Then as soon as the lights went out it hit and lasted about five minutes,” Davilla told IndyStar.
Davilla and her family are now working to salvage what they can from the Whiteland home where they’ve been living for the past six years. She said they are still figuring out next steps for their family.
“I’ve talked with my landlord and he said it could be months and months before anything can be fixed,” Davilla said.
After the initial part of the storm hit, Davilla and her boyfriend went outside to help other families next to her that she could hear screaming for help.
“I’ve never experienced anything like this,” Davilla said.
Davilla’s home was left mostly intact but the wind took out all of their windows and left debris throughout their home. Her neighbors were not as fortunate, though, with some homes completely gone. Others were reduced to a few walls left standing with family photos still seen left hanging.
McCormick's Creek State Park in Owen County
Owen County emergency personnel were out at McCormick's Creek State Park Friday night and returned Saturday to search for people impacted by the storms.
Jack White of Owen County EMS said he felt "extremely fortunate" there were no fatalities in the state park. Several of the people camping there sought shelter in one of the park's bathhouses, which White said may have saved their lives since much of the campground area was reportedly "flattened."
Other areas of Owen County had trees down and many residents lost electricity. White said about half the town of Spencer remained without electricity as of about 9 a.m. Saturday.
Around 50 people were in the campground when the storm hit Friday night and were transported to the Canyon Inn, the historic inn at the state park, said Chris Lunsford of Owen County EMS. Lundsford reported just one person had minor injuries.
USA Today and The Herald-Times in Bloomington contributed to this reporting.
Contact IndyStar reporter Caroline Beck at 317-618-5807 or CBeck@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @CarolineB_Indy.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana tornadoes: 3 die in Sullivan County as many areas see damage
