It was four weeks ago when Southern Indiana was struck by two devastating tornadoes. One of them, an EF-4, tore through the town of Henryville in northern Clark County.
Today, the people of Henryville are steadfast in their ongoing effort to rebuild property and restore lives.
Many areas in Henryville look like a clean slate. Debris from the March 2 tornadoes has been removed and the clean up and rebuilding is well underway. Everywhere you look, there are signs of that rebuilding process and evidence of thousands of hours of work already done by both contractors and volunteers from around the world who have converged to help Southern Indiana through the crisis.
The storms killed 13 people, injured dozens of others and destroyed hundreds of buildings.
Monroe Township Trustee James Allen Bottorff said crews are still trying to identify houses that have tarps and no work going on, "And trying to maybe knock on a door and say, 'hey what's going on, do you need help?'" Bottorff believes some people in need are reluctant to ask for that help.
Officials in Henryville say they have just about all of the building supplies they need. the next great need will be furniture and appliances once the homes are repaired.
Classes at the junior and high school will be back in session next week - another sign of progress.
The Henryville Schools complex, which houses the elementary, junior and senior high school buildings, was badly damaged in the tornadoes. Elementary students went back to school in New Albany last week. The junior and senior high schoolers will be back in class on Monday.
They'll be using an office building in Scottsburg as their temporary school building. State Police will give students a special escort into town and to school Monday morning.
"I think Monday morning is going to be a celebration," said Henryville Principal Troy Albert. "We're going to take it as a celebration. Thankful to be here. Take tours of the place because we haven't been able to get students or parents up there yet. Because we're just not quite yet finished yet."
But they should be finished with the temporary building by Monday. But it will likely take until the fall before the school is ready to reopen to students again.
From FEMA:
FEMA asks survivors of the March 2 tornadoes in southern Indiana to register for assistance one time only, by calling 1-800-621-FEMA or going to this site. Anyone who feels that their FEMA grant is insufficient may appeal by contacting FEMA at the same phone number and Website. Please have your registration number handy.
People who received a Small Business Administration (SBA) disaster loan application are encouraged to complete it and send it in. You can always decline a loan at a later time. But you cannot apply for the low-interest SBA loan after FEMA disaster assistance ends after May 8. Anyone who does not qualify for the loan is then referred back to FEMA for other possible forms of help.
Additional kinds of disaster assistance is available through FEMA, including crisis counseling. FEMA and the American Bar Association have a long-standing agreement to provide free legal assistance to disaster survivors through ABA's Young Lawyers Division. Those who cannot afford an attorney may call 1-888-541-1900.
