Strong winds hamper tornado recovery efforts in Lake Village, Indiana

Indiana state officials on Friday continued to survey tornado damage in Lake Village, after two people were killed in Tuesday's storms, though strong winds made cleanup efforts that much more difficult.

CBS News Chicago's Shardaa Gray went on an exclusive ride-along with the Indiana Department of Homeland Security as crews assessed homes that were severely damaged by the EF3 tornado that ripped through the town.

Homeowners were still picking up the pieces and said Friday's strong winds made cleanup even more difficult.

"I don't know what we did to Mother Nature to make her so mad at us," said Stella Mausehund.

Strong winds were wreaking havoc on Lake Village three days after a massive tornado destroyed their town.

Mausehund's daughter, Kathy Arseneau, lives in Kankakee and her other daughter, Crystal Holste, lives in Wheatfield.

All three were in the path of the storm on Tuesday and were on the phone together when tornadoes went tearing through northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana.

"We tried to contact my mom, and that was the scariest 20 minutes of our lives, just not getting any answers," Holste said.

Mausehund said she took cover from the storm in her crawl space.

"We kind of hunkered down. We heard a lot of it coming," she said.

The Indiana Department of Homeland Security stopped by Mausehund's home to do damage assessments to try and get state or federal funding back into the community.

"We try every time. There's never any guarantee that we can get federal funding in the door to Indiana, but that's why we're here," said IDHS public assistance specialist Lacy Foy.

Crews also stopped next door to Evie and Tom Eckhoff's home, where they got married five years ago.

"If you have 100% loss, we consider that as a major property loss," Foy said.

They have eight kids and said they lost everything in the storm.

"We built this, the home inside the barn, with our own two hands. So, to see everything that you've done for the past five years just gone in 90 seconds is very devastating," Evie said.

IDHS said, depending on the damage, it could be weeks or years before people can go back into their homes.

"We can help with rental or short-term housing if that is an option," Foy said.

Indiana state officials said crews will be out in Lake Village as long as the community needs them.