SWAYZEE, Ind. — In the Grant County town of Swayzee, neighbors spent Saturday picking up their lives after the storm that caused significant damage to homes and scattered trees and debris.
"It's amazing how fast life changes," said resident Marie Rios.
Rios walked out of her home Saturday morning in disbelief.
"It can be OK one second, and you look around and see how people's lives are destroyed and touched," she said.
Rios' house is powered by a generator. The storm knocked over a tree and crushed her shed. Phone lines and power lines were hanging dangerously low around her home.
She said the chaos Friday night all started with a sound.
"I was sitting down watching TV with my daughter and her husband and my husband and heard a roar and thought, 'Oh my gosh, that doesn't sound good.' Lights went out and we walked to the basement and it was over. Then we walked outside and saw," she said.
It was the same sound Joseph Becker heard.
"I heard this really loud whistling noise we started freaking out. We felt like our house started blowing over," said Becker. "We grabbed our kids and went to the closet and prayed to God we were going to be safe."
Most of the homes surrounding Becker's were severely damaged, some of them no longer standing. Miraculously, his house had only minor damage.
"It was definitely something I'll never forget. It was very humbling," he said.
This community spent their Saturday helping each other recover, and focusing on gratefulness because no one was seriously hurt.
"It's very humbling to see the community come together people from all of the counties," said Becker.
"My husband was here and the fire department brought them food because they saw him here. The fact that the community cares about each other like they do, it's amazing. Swayzee is a great little town," said Rios.