JOHNSON COUNTY, Ind. – It’s been two years since an EF-2 tornado tore through Johnson County, changing lives forever while leaving neighborhoods littered with debris.
To this day, people are still recovering from that storm and cleaning up the mess it left behind.
On June 25, 2023, an EF-2 tornado touched down in Johnson County, blowing through neighborhoods, business districts and more. Winds hit an estimated peak of 115 miles per hour that had a path length of more than 5 miles.
“Driving in, seeing all the powerlines down and just how it can rip power poles over.” Eric Funkhouser, the fire chief for the Bargersville Fire Department, said. “I mean, these are big, strong power poles that (were) completely snapped in half.”
No injuries were reported in the aftermath of the storm. Following the storm, emergency crews worked around the clock cleaning up debris, checking in on people and trying to make repairs.
Officials said 75 homes suffered moderate to severe damage. William Lafata, a neighbor in the Stone Village neighborhood, said he remembers that day very well. He watched the funnel form from inside his garage, and in just a matter of seconds, his chimney and shingles were ripped away.
“I was standing in my garage just kind of… I heard like a rumble. They say it sounds like a train but it was just a constant rumble of thunder,” Lafata said. “I (looked_ out the front door and it was coming right at me. When it got across the street, I closed my garage door and went in the house. Sat in the tub for a few minutes.”
His neighbor John Keith had the most damage of anyone in the area. Keith said he has lived through five tornadoes in his lifetime, but stressed the tornado two years ago was the worst.
“They said take cover now if you live in Greenwood. 10 seconds later, it sounded like a freight train and an explosion,” Keith said, emphasizing that he’s still cleaning up two years later. “It was traumatic. It was catastrophic.”
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