Northwest Indiana Bureau

Tornado Levels Homes In Griffith, Ind.

Many Left Homeless Or Without Power

GRIFFITH, Ind. (CBS) ― A confirmed tornado left a wave of damage in Griffith, Ind., so severe that the town had to call in the National Guard.

Residents say they followed a path of debris for three miles, and were convinced a tornado hit from the beginning. The National Weather Service confirmed Tuesday afternoon that a tornado of at least F1 intensity struck Griffith. 

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The National Guard was called out to prevent looting at wrecked storefronts. While they had not arrived in the 6 a.m. hour, uniformed volunteers came to guard such locations as the Griffith Park Plaza strip mall, at 202 W. Ridge Rd., which the storm demolished.

The roof was ripped off, windows were blown off, and steel beams were hanging precariously in a clothing store, vitamin store and foodservice store in the strip mall.

It was a long, grueling day for workers boarding up tornado-ravaged homes Griffith.

Shannon Wells said, "We came here when the sun came up and now the sun's going down and we've still got a lot of work to do."

For homeowners like Bob Hudnall, left without a roof or even a house, it's set to be a long few months.

"It will be rebuilt and I will have a house again. Everybody came out alive. I'm happy," Hudnall said.

Local officials believe hundreds of homes and buildings were damaged in Monday's storm, not to mention thousands of trees. At the Mansards apartment complex, residents weren't only dealing with a power outage and debris, resident Anita Allen said, "You had to crawl under the tree, go around the bush and then climb over the trunk just go get inside the building."

Residents were also dealing with management that began charging a $100 late fee for rent due at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Renter Necole Jones said, "I think there should at least be a little grace period, at least until tomorrow. You know, because, some of us couldn't get in. We were actually blocked in, our cars was blocked in, people had to park blocks away. You know, it's not right."

Before touching down in Griffith, the dangerous winds ripped through a neighborhood 3.5 miles south in Munster, tearing down power lines and tearing up trees.

Munster resident Sam Radowick said, "We were very fortunate, no fires, no incidents; just a lot of cleanup today."

Tree remover Gary Erwin said he's received at least 450 calls since the storm. "We've been a little overwhelmed. We have some customers that are real happy with us and we have some that are mad at us because we can't do it all in one day. So we're doing the best we can."

In LaPorte County, Ind., the power of nature claimed a life when a lightning bolt struck a tree, sending limbs crashing down on Timothy Decker's vehicle near the intersection of County Road 400 West and 625 North. Decker, 23, was killed instantly.

"I started screaming, and I made my son dunk his head down because I didn't want him to see what I had seen," Dawn Parker told sister station WSBT-TV in South Bend. "It was ungodly."

"He never saw it happen, he never felt a thing," added Bill Marlow. "He was just crushed, it was horrible."

The accident happened outside the window of Marilyn Montgomery. She said, "Another car stopped and the people were just kind of in shock."

Meantime, officials in Griffith met Tuesday with Lake County, Ind. Homeland Security to compare notes on just how many residents here are suffering and start getting disaster dollars rolling in.

"Approximately 80 to 100 homes in Griffith have received some type of structural damage," said town council President Rick Ryfa. "That's just walking through a small part of town that was hard hit."

"The town of Griffith has declared their town [a disaster area]. The town of Highland also has. That's all I've had so far," said Jodi Richmond, of Lake County, Ind. Homeland Security. "And then the next step would be the county declaration but we have not reached that step yet."

And residents aren't the only ones sweating it out to get things back to normal. Utility poles just off Ridge Road snapped, downing phone and power lines. NIPSCO workers were rushing Tuesday to try and restore some 40,000 customers in Lake County still without power.

Thirty percent of the town of Griffith sustained severe damage.

Griffith police Chief Ron Kottka said it was the worst damage he had seen in 30 years.

"It appears the damage occurred mostly in the northern parts of town; from 45th Avenue to Griffith here, north, we were heavily damaged in that area, and then from Ridge Road north of that has the most severe damage," Kottka said. "A lot of trees down, homes that were damaged – we have a couple of homes that were absolutely devastated – and a lot of power outages and that type of stuff."

The area to which Kottka referred was a large swath of the town, which has 17,000 residents. Two thirds of the population was left without power.

"It looks like a war zone out there, if you go down between the power lines and the trees," Ryfa said. "It's a terrible sight to have to see."

Ryfa advised all residents to check on their neighbors. Police swept the town earlier to make sure no one was trapped in the debris.

Overnight, churches and schools provided shelter for those displaced from their homes.

Crews have been able to repair major problems such as capping gas leaks, but are worried about those whose homes have been destroyed. On top of that, a new storm passed through the area Tuesday morning.

A boil order was issued Tuesday for Munser, Ind., due to storm damage. Click here for more details.

And nearby unincorporated Calumet Township is struggling to recover as well, with trees down everywhere.

"We're on wells and septics out here. And we don't even have running water. We've got trees up-rooted, garages collapsed, cars flipped and all that," said storm victim David Hardin.

A Calumet Township building Habitat for Humanity used to store tools to build homes for people in need collapsed under the force of the storm.

"We just built a home in Gary for somebody. The refrigerator and stove are in this building and they're gone, I mean, they're just smashed," said Daniel Klein of Habitat for Humanity.

Habitat for Humanity estimates they suffered damages between $300,000 and $400,000. Those interested in donating their time, money or tools to help the group rebuild should call (219) 923-7265.

Four inches of rain that fell overnight soaked what little some northwest Indiana residents had left. NIPSCO said that some residents won't have power restored until late in the day Thursday, though even that is not definite.

Officials along the path of the storm are asking residents to call in with whatever damage they have at their homes so they can try to get aid into the area. Griffith residents should call (219) 924-7500 during office hours, and (219) 924-7503 after hours to report storm damage.

CBS 2's Joanie Lum, Dana Kozlov and Northwest Indiana Bureau Chief Pamela Jones contributed to this report.

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