Indiana Woman Loses Home of 16 Years After Devastating Tornado
— -- An Indiana woman is searching for personal items and sifting through the remains of her home after a ferocious tornado swept through her town Wednesday.
Becki Sweeney was at work when the storm hit Kokomo, Indiana. Now her home of 16 years had been reduced to a skeleton. The roof is gone and her furniture is strewn everywhere.
"It's devastating," she told ABC News. "It hurts to see the damage but I'm thankful that everyone is OK. It's hard to believe nobody got killed."
Kokomo mayor Greg Goodnight said he feels "very grateful" that no deaths or serious injuries were reported from the storm.
The devastation has forced 220 people to be temporarily placed in shelters, many of whom lived in several large apartment complexes that were heavily damaged, Goodnight said. The storm also left tens of thousands of people without power.
Today, Sweeney is trying to salvage some personal items, like her family tree and a stuffed animal her mother held when she died.
"Stuff that can't be replaced ... that didn't cost much money to begin with," she said. "My son came in last night and got some rings that were my grandmother's. I'm thankful for that. He got some photos of when my husband was in the Navy."
And those who didn't lose their homes are pitching in to help their neighbors.
Kim Black told ABC News her home was the only one in the area not damaged.
Now, she is helping her immediate neighbors clean up and will look to help others who live on her block.
"I can't imagine why I have a bed and my neighbors down don't," Black said. "Anything we can do to help, we're gonna do that."
