Published: October 19, 2007 11:58 pm         

Officials, residents assess tornado damage

NAPPANEE, Ind. — Officials consider it a miracle that no one was killed or seriously hurt when a tornado struck Nappanee late Thursday, damaging an estimated 250 buildings and destroying or heavily damaging more than 100.

Indiana State Police said that overnight surveys were conducted and injured victims were sought in two sweeps through the city, with only five people reporting minor injuries.

“It was pretty amazing we didn’t have more serious injury,” said Mayor Larry Thompson. He credited quick response by city department heads who sounded the storm alarm, alerting residents to seek shelter minutes before the tornado hit at 10:25 p.m.

Mayor Thompson completed a survey Friday morning before hosting a press conference at City Hall.

He said the tornado touched down near the intersection of Kosciusko C.R. 1350 North and Ind. 19, destroying a new church and damaging the old “South School,” which had also been used as a church.

“The new church is gone,” he said. He added that there is heavy damage to homes on East Jackson, Short Street and in M-Dee Acres, and that the city street garage is “probably totalled.”

The mayor went on to explain there is tremendous damage at the Fairmont Homes complex at U.S. 6 and C.R. 7, where recreational vehicles stored before shipment were tossed and rolled into piles.

And Franklin Coach, the oldest RV firm in Nappanee “is gone,” the mayor said twice Friday. Franklin Coach was located on C.R. 7, south of U.S. 6.

Several homes in the new Blackstone subdivision off C.R. 9 also have tremendous damage, and a nearby dairy farm had a barn leveled, he said. There were reports of two horses with injury and possible cattle hurt at the barn.

Nature’s Way animal rescue crews were in Nappanee early Friday and were attempting to help animals, he said.

The power outage after the storm interrupted municipal water pumping and because of that, residents were told to boil water before consuming it.

A crew of four Goshen water department employees went to Nappanee this morning to help with repairs and checking the system. After that, they were attempting to help the city sewer department, as sewer lift stations will not operate without electricity.

Larry Graham, a Northern Indiana Public Service Co. electric utility spokesman, said that after the storm hit, about 4,000 customers were without power. By Friday morning, power was restored to all but 700 customers, but he warned that it may take some time to fix poles, re-install lines and clean up storm damage to restore power.

During a second press conference Friday held at 4 p.m. at the Nappanee Municipal Building, Indiana State Police Information Officer Tony Slocum noted that that number has since been reduced to 400.

NIPSCO spokespeople stressed that all downed electric lines should be considered “energized” and should not be touched.

“There is significant law enforcement presence in Nappanee,” said Trevor Wendzonka, spokesman for the sheriff’s department. He explained that one person was arrested and accused of “looting.” That person went into a convenience store and picked up candy, and was charged with theft.

There were 200 to 250 police, fire and medical people at the staging area at Nappanee Elementary School Friday morning, explained Slocum. Those crews were set to conduct an “urban search and rescue,” looking for victims and checking on residents in their homes.

Police were also set to use the public address systems in cars to inform residents of what is taking place.

Mayor Thompson explained that “by midnight (after the tornado hit) Elkhart County people came pouring in. Emergency Management staff were in Nappanee within an hour.”

“We assembled quite a team of experts by midnight,” Mayor Thompson said. He said crews conducted a second tour of the city in the dark, but couldn’t find anyone who was hurt.

“The search phase is over,” Slocum said. “We’ve now moved on into the clean-up phase.”

Goshen Assistant Police Chief Mike McCloughen explained that the state of emergency continues in Nappanee, and will probably be that way at least until Sunday morning. He said residents should stay at their homes and not move around the city.

“If you are in an unauthorized area where there is a police presence, you could be subject to arrest,” Slocum said. “We’ve got it under control.”

Anyone who is not on their own property may be subject to arrest, he said. U.S. 6 is closed from Ind. 15 to Ind. 19 and Ind. 19 is considered closed from C.R. 46 to 1350 North south of the city.

As to when U.S. 6 and the other closed roads will be reopened, Slocum said it is still too soon to tell.

Slocum noted the “tremendous amount of debris, travel trailers and insulation” still littering the roadways and surrounding areas, which is making the clean-up effort all the more tedious.

Even so, Slocum said that several local businesses located along Ind. 19 have now reopened. However, those businesses located near the epicenter of where the tornado struck still remain closed.

Anyone needing food, shelter or bedding may call the Red Cross at 293-6519. For help with animal health or shelter, residents may call Nature’s Way at the Missionary Church at 773-7773.

The Elkhart Chapter of the American Red Cross has opened a shelter at the Nappanee Missionary Church, 70417 Ind. 19, Nappanee.

The mayor went on to explain the plans for a cleanup, after power and order are restored. “A lot of people are securing their homes as we speak. There is a lot of hard work out there.”

Thompson said he hopes to be able to bring volunteers in for a clean-up. He said Beer & Slabaugh construction company and county and state highway crews were in the city, clearing streets, but volunteers will be sought later to clean up many trees and wooden debris. Thompson said the wood may be ground up at a city-owned site. Volunteers may call Hope Crisis Response Network to register to help with the cleanup. That number is 866-909-4673.

“We are a resilient community,” Thompson said.

Authorities are working on damage assessments to see whether homeowners, businesses or local governments could qualify for aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said Eric Dietz, executive director of the Indiana Department of Homeland Security. “If there’s more damage than we can respond to, then we ask FEMA for help,” he said.

The storm blew the roof off Nathan Borkholder’s home onto Ind. 19. Groceries were strewn on his lawn, which was filled with downed trees, and his pole barn was destroyed.

Borkholder said Friday that he and his wife were still trying to make it into their basement when the storm hit.

“You can’t describe” the sound, he said. “It’s one of the most powerful things I’ve ever heard. Look around, almost everything is gone.”

Juanita Yoder said she ran to the basement of her Nappanee home when the storm hit. She couldn’t believe what her neighborhood looked like less than 12 hours later. “I haven’t seen anything like this,” she said. “People are just devastated.”