Gary, Indiana woman recounts horrors of tornado that plowed through her neighborhood
It had been a week Wednesday since eight tornadoes touched down in the Chicago area and Northwest Indiana, including three in Gary, Indiana alone.
One of those tornadoes did some heavy damage, and the city has been in cleanup mode in its wake for days.
The city says the hardest hit area was along 21st Avenue in Gary, where several homes were severely damaged.
"I got a call from my daughter-in-law in Jackson, Tennessee," said Alyne Dawson-Washington. "She said, 'Y'all, Gary's finna have a tornado!'"
The tornado that passed through Gary a week ago is long gone. But Dawson-Washington has a reminder in her front yard — where a tree has been replaced with a gaping hole.
"It swooped and did its damage, and it said, 'I'm out of here,'" Dawson-Washington said.
Dawson-Washington and her 14-year-old dog, Mr. Prickey, were home on Wednesday, March 19, when in swept an EF-1 tornado — one of three tornadoes in Gary and four overall in Northwest Indiana that evening.
"We had a tornado. That was a bad tornado," said Dawson-Washington. "It lifted it up and I actually saw pieces coming, so I know it was bad."
It was especially bad next door. Ring doorbell video from Dawson-Washington's neighbor has gone viral, showing the family rushing to bring their dog inside.
Less than 30 seconds later, the doghouse went flying — followed by the shed.
"I saw my neighbor's shed. It was twirling around. It was coming at me!" said Dawson-Washington. "And I said, 'Oh Lord, we got to get out of here,' I'm telling my dog."
Dawson-Washington and Mr. Prickey took shelter in a bedroom. She regrets not going to the basement.
"It came close because the tree is gone," she said.
The tornado spared Dawson-Washington's home, but did damage nearby. Trees were uprooted, roofs were torn apart, and garages were hit hard too.
"It happened just like that," said Dawson-Washington.
One week later, Gary is left with reminders of how much can change in an instant.
"We're calm. I'm calm," said Dawson-Washington. "All we got to do is clean this up, fix this up."
After the tornado tore through, the city says at least one person was trapped and had to be rescued by first responders.
Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt.
