A storm that passed through Northwest Indiana Wednesday night led to four tornado touchdowns, according to the National Weather Service.
Three EF-0 tornadoes passed through, two in Gary and one in Highland. Gary also had an EF-1 tornado pass through its west side, specifically on 21st Avenue.
Mayor Eddie Melton issued an executive order Thursday, following the EF-1 tornado. Melton declared a local disaster emergency within the city.
The tornado produced strong winds, heavy rains that caused flooding, downed trees, downed power lines and property damage throughout the city, according to Melton’s executive order.
“Our primary focus is the safety and recovery of our community,” Melton said in a Thursday news release. “We are committed to working tirelessly alongside emergency responders and city officials to restore normalcy and support those impacted by this severe weather event.”
The local disaster emergency declaration will remain in effect until it’s determined that the public is no longer at risk, according to the news release. The declaration will expire after one week.
City departments will work to address danger, including reduce flooding, clear roads and neighborhoods of debris, and remove storm-damaged structures, according to the executive order.
As of about 11:30 a.m. Friday, 576 Gary residents were still without power, according to NIPSCO’s power outage map. The city saw no serious injuries or deaths.
High winds peeled the roof off the gym at McCullough Academy, 2757 W. 21st Ave. Chelsea Whittington, chief of public and community relations for Gary School Corp., said a couple classrooms adjacent to the gym were impacted by the tornado.
Whittington told the Post-Tribune Friday that school officials were still completing conferences with parents, and the district will not have an update on McCullough Academy until next week, which is the district’s spring break.
Classes were canceled at McCullough Academy for Thursday and Friday.
In Highland, crews were still working to repair storm damage Friday, said Director of Public Works Mark Knesek. All the town’s roads had been opened, and the department was working on cleaning fallen trees.
“There’s branches down everywhere in front of houses, which will take a while to clean up,” Knesek said, “but all the main stuff is basically done. We’re working on getting the big stumps out today from those 100-foot trees.”
Knesek had previously told the Post-Tribune that crews had all roads passable by 10 p.m. Wednesday and tree-cutting services were clearing fallen trees on Forrest Drive. Highland’s crews also cleared trees on Saric and Martha drives, and Street, as well as pine trees around the Sharp Police Memorial, according to Post-Tribune archives.
mwilkins@chicagotribune.com
