Multiple tornadoes ripped through Indiana communities both south and north of Indianapolis late Friday and early Saturday, killing at least three people in Sullivan County and damaging or destroying hundreds of homes and buildings.
The National Weather Service in Indianapolis said Saturday night that crews preliminarily identified at least seven tornadoes that struck 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 inspected Sullivan, Johnson, Howard and Clinton Counties on Saturday, and crews will continue work on Sunday, possibly surveying Martinsville, the NWS said on Facebook.
Governor Eric Holcomb visited Sullivan on Saturday afternoon, where he announced that he had declared a state of emergency for Sullivan and Johnson counties. About 18 Indiana counties lost power at some point during the storms, Holcomb said.
“This is an all-hands-on effort and it will continue to be,” Holcomb said of the recovery efforts.
Further:How many tornadoes hit Indiana? Here’s how the National Weather Service confirms the reports.
NWS Meteorologist Ted Funk, who also spoke at Sullivan’s news 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 damage spots 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-mile wide, 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, “so devastating for quite some time.”
Central Indiana remained under a wind advisory for most of Saturday with gusts to 50 mph possible, according to the NWS. Thousands of people in Indiana were still without power as of Saturday afternoon.
At least 18 people were reported dead and 900,000 were without power in the US as of Saturday due to ferocious storms and tornadoes that tore through multiple states in the South and Midwest.
There were at least 40 tornado reports Friday across 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 and 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 “there is a damage line that covers several miles, beginning west of Sullivan in rural New Lebanon, extending east through Sullivan,” according to a Facebook post.
Sullivan Mayor Clint Lamb said during a press conference on Saturday morning about 155 of the nearly 200 damaged structures in the county were located in the city. There is “utter devastation south of Silver Street” near Sullivan City Park, Lamb said at the news conference.
“This is going to be a very long process,” Lamb said. “It will take months and months, if not years, to recover from this.”
In another press conference on Saturday afternoon, Lamb reported that the community was still in “search and rescue” mode. A curfew has been established for storm-affected areas of the community.
The sheriff’s office reported downed power lines and multiple gas leaks in the area Saturday. Around the city, trees blocked roads and settled over houses. Rubble was scattered in the fields.
Anthony Arnold of Washington, Indiana, helped clear debris in a Sullivan neighborhood, along with his wife. Sullivan is “a close place” in his family’s heart, he said.
“Just doing God’s work. I 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 city located about 20 miles south of Indianapolis took a “direct hit” around 11:30 p.m. Friday, downing power lines and blocking roads with debris. The National Weather Service has preliminarily classified the tornado that struck there as an EF2 with winds up to 135 mph.
A second, less powerful tornado struck Johnson County south of Bargersville, according to the weather service. It has been classified as EF0 with maximum winds of 85 mph.
Several homes and warehouses in Whiteland were destroyed or sustained significant damage. Destruction was also seen in parts of Franklin.
Whiteland Fire Chief Eric Funkhauser told the Daily Journal 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 has never experienced anything like this storm.
“I’m in a daze,” Duncan told IndyStar. “It’s like it didn’t really happen.”
Duncan was about to go to bed when he heard sirens and then heard heavy rain hitting his roof. After that, he moved into his bathroom, the only room in the house without windows, as the storm tore through and washed out most of his windows.
While surveying the damage Saturday, Duncan hugged a neighbor whose roof was completely blown away and his car was thrown across the yard. Duncan asked him if he would be okay.
“I don’t know if I will be, but we will make it,” said her neighbor.
Duncan’s grandson and other family members were helping her pack up some belongings before moving in with her daughter while their home is being repaired. Duncan said she feels lucky nothing worse has happened to her home.
“I feel blessed,” Duncan said. “God was with me.”
Marie Davilla was at home with her six family members when she heard the sirens wailing. She said that she usually doesn’t think about tornado sirens, but for some reason she decided that her family needed to go to the bathroom.
“Then as soon as the lights went off, it came on and it lasted for about five minutes,” Davilla told IndyStar.
Davilla and her family are now working to salvage what they can from the Whiteland home where they have been living for the past six years. She said they are still thinking about the next steps for her family.
“I talked to 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, Davilla and her boyfriend got out to help other families next to her who she could hear screaming for help.
“I have never experienced anything like this,” Davilla said.
Davilla’s house was left largely intact, but the wind blew out all the windows and left debris all over the house. However, his neighbors were not so lucky, since some houses disappeared completely. Others were reduced to a few walls left standing with family photos that still hang.
McCormick’s Creek State Park in Owen County
Owen County emergency personnel were at McCormick’s Creek State Park Friday night and returned Saturday to search for people affected by the storms.
Jack White of Owen County EMS said he felt “extremely lucky” there were no fatalities at the state park. Several of the people who camped there sought refuge in one of the park’s bathhouses, which White said could have saved their lives, as much of the campground area was reportedly “flattened”.
Other areas of Owen County had trees down and many residents lost power. White said about half of the city of Spencer was still without power as of 9 a.m. Saturday.
About 50 people were at 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 that only one person suffered minor injuries.
USA Today and The Herald-Times in Bloomington contributed to this report.
Contact IndyStar Reporter Caroline Beck at 317-618-5807 or CBeck@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @CarolineB_Indy.
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