Marysville, Indiana Tornado 'Completely' Destroys Town As Twisters Sweep Across State

JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (AP) — Tornadoes have left widespread damage in southern Indiana and a sheriff's official says at least one town of about 1,900 people is "completely gone."

National Weather Service coordinator Bill Whitlock there's "extreme damage" in the area of Henryville, a town of about 3,000 people just north of the Kentucky border. Destruction can be seen for miles and a school district spokeswoman says heavy damage has been reported at Henryville High school.

Clark County Sheriff's Department Maj. Chuck Adams says the nearby town of Marysville is "completely gone."

Indiana Department of Homeland Security spokesman John Erickson says there are injuries but no immediate reports of fatalities.

Officials say they've had difficulty confirming reports due to downed power and telephone lines.

Check out photos from storms across the U.S.:

WATCH:

Comments

[madcityy]

11:44 AM on 03/05/2012

very sadddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd

[ThinkinPerson]

02:23 AM on 03/05/2012

My prayers go out to the people in this region.
I know its traumatic losing one's home.
Don't give up hope, it will get better.

I have been looking at some of the straw bale and other design houses that can be built quickly and cheaply. People can help each other rebuild and help the community rebound. More effective energy can be built into the design. Some of these structures can be built in three weekends time, less with community input.

I know its not much to throw out ideas - I wish I had the money to invest in rapid rebuilding. The devastation is wide spread and the images of people who have lost their home is heartbreaking. I worry about where they will stay and what will happen to them.

I'll be praying for a positive outcome.

[KrautMan]

02:21 AM on 03/06/2012

You should have prayed harder and earlier, you could have stopped all this from happening.

[ThinkinPerson]

05:03 AM on 03/06/2012

I can't do it on my own!

[billjmcdaniel]

01:50 AM on 03/05/2012

March 2nd saw approximately 95 tornados across the nation. Help is needed immediately, in great amounts. Winter isn't yet over, and thousands have lost everything.

However you help, even if its just mailing some winter clothing will be very honorable.

[mapmaker515]

09:34 PM on 03/04/2012

Here in NY people get bent out of shape if there's a blizzard. I can't imagine living in a state where total destruction of my home is a possibility. That includes California,Florida, Kansas, and parts of the Northwest.

[Christina-Xena]

07:04 PM on 03/04/2012

I can easily find it believable the damage a tornado can do to homes, given how big, flat and off the ground they are, but the major damage done to many cars made of steel always astonds me. The human body has little chance if exposed to such forces and flying debrie.

If I lived in such a tornado prone area I'd have a storm shelter in the ground even if just big enough to stand in to avoid such horrendous forces of nature. No possessions are worth the human toil such forces may cause.

Here's praying for the same kind of aggressive volunteer and governmental help that followed the first day of tornado hit areas! If I lived anywhere near those areas I would be there myself to assist in any way.

[rayzrface714]

06:55 PM on 03/04/2012

Storm warnings in Indiana are absolutely no joke! The ground is so soggy that the average homeowner has no recourse to retreat to a cellar! The buildings in Indianapolis have to be built no higher than 2 stories according to local ordinance! Family structures,business structures have a different code! Very strange place to visit? The rest stop on the Interstate is built into the ground so that the roof is covered with topsoil! You can walk over it! Makes you think a little bit more when you see it? Thank you.

[silentknight65]

05:40 PM on 03/04/2012

Not to be cruel, because it is TRAGIC......but........................

Let's see how long it takes all the Republicans and Tea-baggers in that town to go running to the Government for help and relief in their time of need!!! HYPOCRITES!

[Christina-Xena]

07:07 PM on 03/04/2012

No doubt they are in many regards. Perhaps governmental aid should be based on political affliation so Democrates and Independants get direct disaster relief, but if a Republican their aid amounts they would have gotten instead is used to pay down the national debt.

See how quickly their Teaper tune will change!

[Pherdnut]

09:52 PM on 03/04/2012

As much as I disagree with them, I don't think anyone in the Tea Party is advocating against aid for disasters like this.

[slloyd414]

09:02 AM on 03/05/2012

It is tragic, and that is cruel at a time when we need to be uniting. I am seeing way too many people who have lost so much of their compassion for others that all they want to do at a time like this is try to divide and inflame.

[Pherdnut]

04:42 PM on 03/04/2012

What blows my mind is that more didn't die. Some of these overhead shots look like the aftermath of a nuclear blast.

[Sonia Sonia]

03:50 PM on 03/04/2012

How devastating.

[vbookish7]

01:17 PM on 03/04/2012

that sew should be sow!!!!

[vbookish7]

01:16 PM on 03/04/2012

The environmental refugee problem will keep growing from the effects of global climate change. America reaps what they sew.

[therealone]

02:53 PM on 03/04/2012

Yeah, but only America, every other country in the world drives battery operated cars in countries solely powered by solar power with sustainable farming, and all paper products are from recycled paper. So, ONLY America reaps what it alone sows not sews.

[vbookish7]

03:39 PM on 03/04/2012

But, other countries have reduced carbon emissions by 75% and recycle almost all waste. Get with it. Not everyone are snobs like American industry. Some are actually trying to leave a sustainable planet for future generations.........but as Santorum the Great has said............"Don't do That." and he is polluting with how many children?

[Pherdnut]

04:31 PM on 03/04/2012

We could be doing better, but it's silly to suggest we're the worst.

[Christina-Xena]

07:08 PM on 03/04/2012

Actually the whole world does, since global warming is a worldwide concern and many countries and animal species have related problems

[sanchopoor]

11:27 AM on 03/04/2012

Just like in hurricane country in tornado alley building homes out of wood and sheet rock is asking for trouble. Look at all the damage as I have and one will notice very few bricks/concrete/cinder block structures damaged. There are some but generally speaking not as many as the wooden and sheet rock houses which have no place in violent weather places such as the mid-west and southeast US. However I very much doubt this "tradition" will change because us humans tragically don't seem to learn from our mistakes.

[vbookish7]

01:19 PM on 03/04/2012

Well, these tornados are capable of wacking a house of concrete. The asphalt was raining down on Cincinnati. Imagine the day it hits a large city in the south? Well, just what the climate change models showed a long time ago. Storms getting stronger. Oh well..................

[OdinsEye]

03:51 PM on 03/04/2012

Tornados can strike just about anywhere. and yes, tornados can destrory brick and cinder block structure quite easily.

[martyrsscythe]

02:31 AM on 03/05/2012

A tornado can pretty much lay waste to anything above ground no matter what it is constructed from, if the storm is powerful enough.

[Bullitt08]

11:15 AM on 03/04/2012

Why aren't buildings in the tornado belt built to Florida Building Code or the Miami-Dade Building Code standards?

[Angie Daniels]

09:59 PM on 03/04/2012

probably because some of them (or a lot of them) are older and were built before the new codes came into effect.

[Bullitt08]

09:03 AM on 03/05/2012

That is the qeustion. Are the new codes in the tornado belt up to snuff?

[sanfran55]

01:08 AM on 03/04/2012

Looks like Japan after the tsunami - terrible. Prayers to the people out there affected by this disaster.

[SimpleManStable]

01:22 PM on 03/04/2012

I live in Marysville, IN. My small town was destroyed, although I did not get a direct hit, a lot of my friends and neighbors did. Anyone can send donations of any kind to the : New Washing Fire Department, 25612 HWY 62, New Washington, IN 47162, 812-293-4114 is the Phone #. New Wash is a nearby town helping all they can. Thank you very much for any consideration.

[slloyd414]

09:05 AM on 03/05/2012

Thank you for providing that information. I hope someone will see it and help.

[Christina-Xena]

07:26 PM on 03/04/2012

Looks like similar damage but I assure you it's far from what occurred in Japan. There is no huge flood of muddy junk-filled water that pores in and then sweeps everything away, or ground shaking for weeks afterwards causing more damage and frightening people all over again. Or radioactive fallout in a 60+ mile circle.

They lost 19K+ people, and an entire coastline, and we lost less than 50 souls in a handfull of citites. We can be 90% rebuilt in a year and Japan's destroyed areas will take a decade to reconstruct. And sadly both types of disasters have a high likelyhood of being repeated at some point in time.

Let's continue to pray for both people's needs, and finding better ways to survive such awsome forces of nature by building smarter and with better responses to such threats..

[sanfran55]

03:49 PM on 03/05/2012

Especially getting rid of earthquake area nuclear plants.

[thumbprint10]

10:44 PM on 03/03/2012

What can we do to help? Any locals reading this? Send a check to a local church? I have several nice coats I was going to send to Salvation Army -- I can send there instead.