State says support for tornado-affected areas will continue as long as needed

PLAINFIELD, Ind. (WISH) — Indiana’s top emergency management official on Friday said first responders in the path of last week’s tornado did outstanding work despite all of the storm’s obstacles.

Indiana Department of Homeland Security Executive Director Joel Thacker said the storm at times directly interfered with emergency crews’ ability to respond. Sullivan County’s 911 center was knocked offline for about 3-4 hours when an EF3-rated twister tore through that community, also destroying the Sullivan County emergency management director’s home in the process. The Whiteland Fire Department’s headquarters were destroyed while firefighters were busy responding to storm damage, forcing them to move in with the New Whiteland Fire Department for the time being. Thacker praised first responders’ ability to adapt to the conditions.

“Incredible amounts of bravery in the middle of the night, downed power lines, you don’t know if they’re energized or not, you have to assume they are, yet they know that there are people that needed help and they went right to work.” he said.

Now the state’s attention shifts to recovery. In an interview for All INdiana Politics before heading to Sullivan on Friday, Thacker said anyone affected by the storm should seek out state resources to help them recover. One-stop shops have been set up in Sullivan and in Whiteland, the two communities hit hardest. Besides basic housing and financial support, Thacker says survivors can find mental health assistance and even animal care assistance there. The state department of insurance can be found at those sites as well for uninsured or underinsured people whose homes were damaged or destroyed.

“Many people that I have talked to, it’s really been overwhelming, thinking that ‘there are folks in greater need than me,’” he said, “but we want them to take advantage of the support that’s out there right now.”

IDHS officials said roughly 25 tornadoes hit Indiana the night of March 31-April 1, killing five people and injuring 34 more. More than 700 structures sustained some type of damage, with 165 destroyed. The twisters led to local disaster declarations in eight counties. Thacker said responding to multiple disaster areas in geographically separate parts of the state posed additional challenges, though his department trains for such a scenario.

“The more widespread it is, the thinner we become,” he said.

Thacker said IDHS staff are trained to perform duties different from their primary roles, so they were able to shift around and plug gaps as the outbreak unfolded. Building code and fire investigators, for example, helped assess damage. State officials, as well as county assets and crews from neighboring cities, are taking part in the recovery effort in the hardest-hit areas. He said those resources will remain in place as long as they are needed.