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Situation Report: Indiana Tornado

November 7, 2005

SITUATION: At least 22 people are dead and others missing from an F3 tornado that swept through several southwestern Indiana communities early Sunday (Nov. 6). The twister hit two counties--Vanderburgh and Warrick--and in the process leveled a mobile home park near Evansville, Ind. Also destroyed were an apartment complex in Newburgh, Ind., and a United Methodist church in Booneville, Ind.

The tornado--which hit at 2:30 am when many people were asleep--was the deadliest to hit Indiana in three decades and was one of the most severe in the entire U.S. in a number of years, the New York Times reported, quoting officials of the National Weather Service. The death count from the storm alone exceeded the total number of tornado fatalities for the entire country so far this year, the Times reported.

Eighteen of the victims died at the Eastbrook Mobile Home Park in Vanderburgh County. Another four persons died in neighboring Warrick County, officials said. The storm also affected parts of northern Kentucky.

The state of Indiana has asked for a federal disaster declaration in the affected counties.

RESPONSE: Housing rebuilding and repair will be principal issues in recovery efforts, reports CWS Disaster Response and Recovery Liaison (DRRL) Lura Cayton. She is in touch with officials from a long-term recovery organization in the region that responded earlier this year to floods to assess if that group can assist in recovery efforts.

For further information about disasters to which Church World Service is responding please visit the CWS Hotline online or call at 800-297-1516.

Media Contact:
Lesley Crosson, CWS/New York, 212-870-2676;
Jan Dragin, 781-925-1526;

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