PORTLAND, Ind. — The National Weather Service and the Jay County Emergency Management Agency were on the ground Monday in Portland, Indiana looking at damage caused by one of two tornadoes that touched down in Indiana around 8 p.m. Sunday.
“One of our officers actually spotted the rotation and made the call to set those sirens off,” Jay County EMA director Samantha Rhodehamel said.
According to Rhodehamel, the tornado left 38 residential properties with minor to major damage.
Four commercial properties were also hit by the tornado, including Jay County Jr.-Sr. High School and the American Legion.
Rhodehamel toured the school Monday morning, which remained closed, with the district announcing there would also be no classes on Tuesday.
According to Rhodehamel, the roof covering the part of the building with the junior high and library came off, as well as part of the school’s HVAC system.
“It’s mind blowing to see the damage inside compared to what’s usually there,” Rhodehamel said.
This week is homecoming at the high school and, according to Portland Mayor Jeff Westlake, the parade and football game are still set to take place.
“We’ve been really lucky that something more major didn’t happen,” Westlake said.
Emergency officials say there were no injuries because of the tornado, but Kyle Love called it the scariest moment of his life when he realized the tornado was hitting his house.
Love teaches at the high school and lives right across the street from it.
Sunday night, he was just about to watch football when he heard it start to rain, followed by another sound that reminded him of a roaring jet engine.
“It was a very high-pitched whistling type of noise,” Love recalled. “The next thing you know, I sat up, we had a weather alert go up and I look out the window and at that time, I see my front porch awning lift up."
“I see debris flying on the highway and I immediately covered and went down into the couch because there was nowhere else to go and, the next thing you know, I heard the roof pop off,” Love said, explaining that he hardly had time to react to most of his roof being gone, when what was left of it collapsed on top of him.
“It’s like getting a sucker punch out of nowhere and you didn’t see it coming,” Love said.
He said he gathered his composure while lying under insulation and roof tiles.
“Being able to know where I’m at, take a deep breath and say, ‘OK, you’re getting out,’” Love said.
When he did get out, he called 911. Love credits his training as a part-time firefighter for his ability to stay calm and know how to protect himself with very little warning.
“It was like fight or flight. It’s like protect and get out,” Love said.
Monday morning, he looked at the damage all around him. His truck, sitting outside in the driveway right next to the house, had barely a scratch.
“It’s insane that I did not get hurt,” Love said.
