JEFFERSON COUNTY, Indiana — At least one tornado touched down Thursday in Indiana's Jefferson County near Madison, officials said.
According to county Emergency Management personnel, a tornado was seen on the ground shortly after 2 p.m. Officials said damage was reported on Greenbrier Road in the Hanover area and in Brooksburg.
Jefferson County, Ind. Director of Emergency Management, Matt True, said the area saw one injury, damage to 87 structures including 29 residential structures and no fatalities during the storm.
Tornado warnings were issued for portions of Jefferson and Switzerland counties early Thursday afternoon.
The radar indicated large hail, possibly as large as tennis ball-sized, fell in the area.
In a disheveled Hanover neighborhood, neighbors reflected on the fleeting storm they never saw coming.
"I never, ever thought in 100 years it would've happened again," William Tingle, a nearby homeowner, said.
You wouldn't have to travel far in the neighborhood to see the damage.
"You can't believe you're 100 feet from it, you know?" Garnet Tipton, another nearby homeowner, said.
Covered in debris, 85-year-old Bill Wegner recounted the moment the tornado crossed paths with his house.
"It was blowing--just unbelievable," Wegner said. "Yeah, I couldn't see. Had to dig my way out of it because there's two feet of insulation in there. And it was all over in 10 seconds."
The 10 second storm left thousands-of-dollars-worth in repairs to his now dilapidated home.
"It's gone. There's nothing left. The back wall is gone. The roof is off my garage in the work shop," Wegner said.
Wegner's home was one of about 15 in the area affected by the storm.
"I was watching the storm and saw it hit the other subdivision over there and knew it was coming this way," Gayle Liter said. "We just ran into the middle of the house, the utility room. And about 30 seconds later it hit. And you see the damage."
Not much of the Liters' home is left standing after the storm.
"People say it sounds like a train? Yeah, oh yeah it was loud," Brenda Liter said.
The couple said they just moved in about three months ago.
"Yeah, and I said, 'We didn't meet many of the neighbors until today. Haha,'" Brenda Liter said.
Because just as fast as the storm passed, complete strangers came out offering whatever goods and services they could to a hard hit area.
"And when I drove through here, I seen it was really really bad. Really, really destruction," Chris Gross, a local Lowes manager, said. "So I called my store manager. He said we needed to do something so we jumped to it."
Neighbors, performing thankless acts, dropped off more than 60 cases of water and 56 boxes of trash bags.
"To do our part for the community. These people shop with us, so the more we can give back to them, the more they're going to do for us," Gross said.
"Volunteerism is the heart of this town and the county, and it's important for everyone to take responsibility for their neighborhood," Tipton said.
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