HENRYVILLE — At a special severe weather forum Monday hosted by WAVE 3 News in partnership with the News and Tribune, the Henryville community took a look back at the tornado that changed their lives and bound them forever in history.
Through three panel discussions facilitated by WAVE 3 anchor Scott Reynolds — along with live footage of the day — the March 2, 2012, EF4 tornado that roared through the town of 2,000 was revisited. But it’s not something that’s ever far from the minds of its residents.
Samuel Gilles was just 8 years old when the tornado tore through his small town, destroying the school his day care was attached to as he and others huddled under a table.
He was not too young to be affected — he said it was very scary and he was holding onto hope that everything would be OK.
“The lights went out and we started hearing a bunch of shaking and a train sound,” he said. “I was just hoping that I would be OK and nothing bad would happen. There were some that were crying. I was talking to my friend, trying to stay positive.”
A panel of staff from WAVE 3 News, the News and Tribune’s newsgathering partner, and the News and Tribune first recounted the events from their view that day — what it was like to hear and cover one of the most destructive events in their careers. Teams from both organizations worked to keep the viewers and readers informed of the developing story, and followed up with all that came after.
The weather team knew in advance it was going to be a big storm. It couldn’t predict that it would be in Henryville, but it knew it would hit close. In footage from the day, Chief Meteorologist Kevin Harned warned viewers to be alert.
“We don’t want you to be scared, we want you to be prepared,” he said in the coverage WAVE played at the forum.
Before the tornado, resident Trish Gilles wasn’t a big news or weather-watching person, she said on the second panel, which also included a first responder and school officials. But that has all changed now, she said.
“Around here, when they say severe weather, you don’t think anything of it,” she said, of the area’s fickle weather patterns. “You get in the closet, ride out the severe weather and you get back in bed. Now it is so important — I have six apps on my phone.”
She waited out the storm in the closet with her husband and three children, two of which were injured by the storm. Hail broke the back of one son and her daughter suffered a concussion.
“When it shook, it shook the entire house,” she said. Of the community as a whole, she said “We’ll never forget that day and how it affects us.”
The third panel focused on recovery and the community’s resilience.
Mark Furnish, chief of the Monroe Fire Department, said searches continued for three days, marking an ‘X’ on each house that had been searched.
“For most of us, we’ve lived here our whole lives,” he said. “So when we were driving down the streets and saw the houses, there was a name to every one of the houses.”
He tells the story of steadfastness within the community, with how everyone got out and did what they could to help with the rescue and recovery efforts.
“One of the families, they lost their whole house,” he said. “They continued to work even as they drove past their house.”
Amir Musavi, Jeffersonville City Safety manager, was with the Utica Fire Department and Clark County emergency team at the time. Workers with special skills came from the surrounding areas including Louisville and as far as Chicago and Oklahoma. It was the people helping from all over the country as well as the whole local community fixated to regain footing after the event.
“It’s beautiful,” he said of the community. “The recovery will take years but many lessons have been learned and many friendships made.”
People from across the country helped with the relief efforts, propping up a community that was already doing everything it could to survive and rebuild.
“It taught our kids that in the face of a tremendous crisis that people working together with faith in God, there’s hope,” West Clark Community Schools assistant superintendent John Reed said. “I think that’s a lesson I can still see in our kids — the power of hope and what it can do for a small community in Indiana.
“We learned in the face of a crisis that we still have the ability to change our attitude and look forward.”