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Residents Return to Ruined Mobile Home Park
Written by
Lesly C. Simmons
, Staff Writer, RedCross.org
Monday, November 14, 2005 — EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Chris Smith had just cashed his paycheck and was carrying about $200 in cash in the wallet in his pocket. When he got home that night, he noticed the winds were strong, but thought nothing of it when we went to sleep with his girlfriend and their one year old son.
“Next thing I knew, the windows broke in,” said Smith. “I just closed my eyes and held onto my son. It was something else. I don’t know how it got over here without killing us.”
American Red Cross volunteer Jennifer Forshee helps Douglas Morefield go through the contents of his daughter’s home. Brandy Morefield survived the storm but later died of her critical injuries caused by the tornado.
(Photo Credit: Lesly Simmons/American Red Cross) |
Smith’s mobile home in the Eastbrook Mobile Home Park was moved nearly four lots away from its original location, and the bedroom area was nearly crushed. His pants with the money from the cashed paycheck disappeared. But other than a few cuts and bruises, Smith and his family walked away.
So many others here were not nearly as lucky. All told, the tornado killed 23 residents in two Indiana counties, making it the deadliest storm in nearly 30 years. 19 of those deaths and other critical injuries occurred in Eastbrook, where the homes provided little or no shelter against the tornado’s vicious winds.
New Red Cross volunteer Debbie Hurt and her husband were planning to adopt a foster child, and part of the requirements included Red Cross health and safety training. Since she had completed the courses when the tornado hit, she went to the Southern Indiana chapter office and asked how she could put her training to use. She was sent out to Eastbrook.
“I only live about a mile away from here, and my family called me that night to say that there was a tornado moving through,” she said. “This is not anything I’ve ever done before. I’m glad to help people close to home. Everyone is really thankful.”
Zach Ahrens was one of those thankful residents. He spent much of last Tuesday picking through the tattered remains of his mobile home, trying to find anything he could reclaim. Ahrens was away from home when the tornado hit, but his roommate and her friend were both there sleeping. The friend remains in critical condition after a head injury caused during the storm.
Eastbrook resident Zach Ahrens examines the framework of his mobile home, which was tossed and turned in the tornado. Ahrens was not home, but his roommate’s friend sustained critical injuries and remains hospitalized.
(Photo Credit: Lesly Simmons/American Red Cross) |
Ahrens said he plans to find a house across town, something he hopes will be safer than his mobile home was if a tornado comes through again. “I won’t be coming back,” he said of his home of a year and a half.
The community was reopened by streets, and residents were bussed in and given a few hours to take pictures and salvage what they could. If their vehicles were running, they could fill them up and drive them out.
Vandenburgh County Sheriff Brad Ellsworth was on hand to answer questions and lend a hand to residents as they returned.
“I’m here to make sure we do anything we can to make them feel better about this,” said Ellsworth. “We can’t feel good about it, but we can try to make it better.”
Slowly, some things started looking up in Eastbrook. After a few hours of searching, Chris Smith found his missing pants with the cash safe inside his wallet, just as he left it.
All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. You can help the victims of thousands of disasters across the country each year, disasters like the Midwest ice storms, by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to victims of disaster. The American Red Cross honors donor intent. If you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster please do so at the time of your donation. Call 1-800-REDCROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P. O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org.
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