Stealth Tornado Rips Through Indiana

Twenty-two people died and about 230 were injured when a tornado touched down in southern Indiana and Kentucky during the early-morning hours of Nov. 6. Initial estimates by local insurance adjusters put property damage as high as $10 million.

The tornado struck around 2 a.m. in Henderson County, Kentucky, then crossed the Ohio River and hit an Evansville, Ind., mobile home park before moving into Warrick County.

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels declared a statewide emergency and asked President Bush for federal assistance for Hoosiers devastated by the tornado and severe storms that accompanied it.

The governor is seeking assistance that would qualify Indiana for individual and disaster assistance. Federal public assistance provides reimbursement for state and local expenses.

Daniels has requested assistance for the core affected counties of Vanderburgh and Warrick and the contiguous counties of Dubois, Gibson, Pike, Posey and Spencer.

In his letter to Bush, Daniels cited severe damage to homes, businesses, and public infrastructure in the affected areas.

Implementation of the federal Individual Assistance Programs include disaster housing, disaster unemployment assistance, crisis counseling and individual and household programs, as well as hazard mitigation and Small Business Administration disaster loans.

The Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS) is providing state coordination to direct assistance to local governments. In addition, the state Military Department of Indiana, the IDHS Fire and Building Safety Division, the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, the Indiana Energy Group, and other agencies are engaged in providing requested assistance.

Marty Wood of the Insurance Institute of Indiana said that members are reporting approximately $10 million in preliminary insured losses. However, because some company adjusters still had not gotten into the area at press time, he said this number could increase.

State Farm received 255 homeowners’ claims from the Evansville area, 100 of which were uninhabitable, said Missy Lundberg, spokesperson for the insurer. Another 700 homeowners claims came from other areas of the state that were hit by severe storms accompanying the tornado. None of the tornado’s claims were on mobile homes.

Through September there had been only 10 tornado deaths- eight of them mobile homes residents. In any given year, there are about 70 U.S. tornado fatalities.