Storms peel roof off school in Gary, rip down trees around Northwest Indiana
Storms that pounded the Chicago area Wednesday
left a path of destruction and devastation in Gary, Indiana — ripping roofs of houses and even a school.
A tornado is suspected to have been to blame for some of the damage in Gary. On Wednesday night, the City of Gary confirmed residents spotted a funnel cloud near 21st Avenue and Hendricks Street.
Multiple homes and businesses saw significant wind damage, along with flooding and trees and limbs coming down.
At 21st Avenue and Wallace Street in Gary, Ebony Perkins received a call to rush home.
"I'm very thankful I wasn't home," Perkins said. "My daughter called because she thought I was at home, and told me she saw it on Facebook that the house was damaged."
Perkins discovered the roof to her house was gone — sitting on the neighbors' house. Light poles crashed through windows and roofs on the block, leaving Perkins and many others unable to stay in their homes Wednesday night.
"What I seen is my whole life is gone," Perkins said. "I just bought this house."
Perkins' home was one of at least seven homes with severe roof damage on the west side of Gary.
"We know a significant amount of structures have been pretty much damaged severely," said Gary Mayor Eddie Melton. "A lot of folks have been displaced from their homes."
Gary Fire Chief Larry Tillman praised the efforts of his men and women took to make sure that they got everyone out of their damaged houses — with downed electrical wires trapping many people.
"We had people staying place until we could actually get to them. Some of them, we did have to make emergency moves, on some of the ceilings, the roof was coming down inside of the homes," Tillman said. "We had to move some of their people from their homes to the garage just to get out of the rain until we could get ambulance crews in the area to bring them out."
Right across the street, Gary firefighters made their way inside Frankie Woods McCullough Academy, a public school located at 3757 W. 21st Ave. Strong winds and a possible tornado peeled back the roof of the school and damaged the gymnasium and classrooms.
CBS News Chicago is told several janitorial staff members were inside the building at the time.
"I can probably say with 100% of certainty that they experienced some fear," said Gary Community School Corporation Supt. Dr. Yvonne Stokes. "However, they were very brave. They did what they were supposed to do. They took cover. I'm happy to report no one was hurt."
Yet the school serves some 515 students. Stokes said the school district is still assessing the damage, but she knows if the storm had moved in just a few hours earlier, all the boys and girls would have been in harm's way.
"Well, had it been two hours earlier, I'd like to believe that my staff would have pivoted and taken our students into their safety zones — but I'm glad it wasn't," Stokes said. "With that being said, we will be looking at making a plan to move forward, because we don't know how long it will take to fix the building."
The school will be closed Thursday and Friday. Spring break starts for the district next week.
Also in Gary, broken glass was reported at the Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana, and an abandoned structure collapsed.
The City of Gary said its General Services teams were working to clear fallen branches and debris. For downed power lines, residents should use extreme caution and call NIPSCO directly at 800-464-7726.
Mayor Melton said the City of Gary is working with the American Red Cross to make sure displaced residents receive shelter.
The City of Gary also noted that The Monroe Center, at 4101 Washington St., is open for residents in need of an emergency shelter. The Monroe Center can be reached at 219-501-8766.
Highland, Indiana was also hit especially hard by storms that blasted through the Chicago area Wednesday — with numerous trees coming down and at least one landing on a house.
On Forrest Drive in Highland, neighbors really saw the brunt of the aftermath. Two families saw trees completely uprooted on land on their lawn, and Sheila Courtright saw a tree land right on her house.
The portion of the tree that landed on Courtright's house was nearly 6 feet tall, and it was scary for her and her family — who were home at the time.
Courtright and her family have lived in the house for more than 40 years. The front portion of the house saw leaks and damage from the tree falling on it.
Jessica Ramirez lives a few doors down.
"It went from zero to 100 real quick outside," Ramirez said.
She said her mom, Rosie Ramirez, was paying a visit Wednesday afternoon when the storm hit.
"She was parked in the driveway, and as soon as the winds picked up, she was like, 'No, I got to go move my car,'" said Jessica Ramirez.
A horror followed immediately.
"All of a sudden, I feel my car lifting up in the air, and I'm screaming to my husband — I have him on the phone — I said, 'It's taking me! It's taking me!'" said Rosie Ramirez.
Their family, car, and home were all safe after the tree in front was uprooted. It fell in their yard.
Daniel Aguirre also has a home on Forest Drive.
"Once I heard like very hard drops hitting the window, I grabbed my family and ran to the basement," Aguirre said. "I heard a loud screeching sound, kind of like a loud train coming at the house."
Aguirre said his roof and gutter might need some repairs the tree fell on his home.
As for Courtright, she is staying at her daughter's for the time being. She said the family does not want to take any chances.
"This thing could come down further because of the way it's coming out that way," she said of the tree on her house, which also ripped up the sidewalk as it was uprooted.
Highland Public Works employees were seen in trucks Wednesday night, assessing the damage a bit.
However, a lot of the work cannot be done, and the trees cannot to be removed, until the sun is up on Thursday.
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