Tornado Leaves Damage In Central Indiana

Around 3 p.m. Tuesday, Tom Spalding was working with 20 students as part of the National Chimney Sweep Training School in Plainfield when he heard the tornado warning.

The group went outside and Spalding says the scene was unlike anything he has ever witnessed.

"All of a sudden, right directly west of us moving northwest was this weirdly, grey, purple blob in the sky," he said.  "It formed kind of a V-shape and it sort of descended onto the ground and we all were (like) 'is that a tornado?'"

"We don't see very many of those in the daytime here in Indiana.  So, we quickly got a lot of the students into shelter."

Once it appeared the storm had passed the Chimney Safety Institute of America, Spalding went out and took another look at the sky.

"I was amazed at how ugly it looked," he said.  "I was amazed at how it just kind of bobbed and moved.  It was over an area that I knew was populated, so I was kind of concerned about where it was going to land if it did indeed touch."

No damage was done to the Institute’s facility, but those like Jenni Harris, who lives in Plainfield’s Cameron Meadows neighborhood, weren’t so fortunate.

"I was actually on my way (home) and then I thought I saw birds spinning in the air and then I realized when my car got hit with insulation it was not birds, it was debris," she said.  "So, I flipped around and just started driving east as far and fast as I could."

When Harris was able to get to her home, she saw some of its siding had been ripped off and the tree in her front yard was snapped in half.

Harris says she is just relieved the damage wasn’t worse.

"I am glad that it seems like everybody is ok," she said.  "It doesn't sound like anybody's been injured. So, I'm glad for that, at least."

"Everything else can be taken care of."

Across the street, surrounded by debris and dilapidated branches, high-school student Andre Mallett, 17, stood in his garage and assessed the damage to his home.

"Chaos," he said.  "But, not major chaos because a lot of people got hit worse then we did.  You shouldn't be grateful for damage that happens to you, but people are in worse condition, so this isn't as bad compared to other people."

Mallet was home with his younger sisters and grandparents when the storm developed.   He received a text alert on his phone warning of the severity and immediately helped his family get to the basement.

"I was just calm because we trained for this in school all the time," he said.  "I just stepped up and got all of them to bring them down to make sure everybody was OK so nothing bad would happen."

"They were scared, so I just had to calm them all down and get them downstairs."

Next door, John Riggs stood in his driveway looking at a damaged roof, mail box, windows, and siding.  He was at work when the storm him, but raced home to make sure his two dogs were ok.

"They were freaking out," said Riggs.  "They are already traumatized from storms, so by the time we got home they were basket cases."

But, Riggs says he isn’t too concerned with the damage, considering what could have been.

"This all can be replaced.  A human life can't be replaced," he said.  "I feel extremely lucky."

"These people are extremely strong," Riggs said of his neighbors.  "This isn't going to hurt nobody."

He says while the storm may cause a few inconveniences over the next several days, he expects the neighborhood he has grown to love over the past four years to be back to business as usual soon.