Clean up efforts underway after tornado strikes Miami County

MIAMI COUNTY, Ind. -- Right now, the clean up efforts are in full swing in Miami County in the area of County Road 1500.

The powerful storm uprooted trees, took down power lines and barns and leveled at least two houses.

There were no serious injuries but the recovery efforts will last for at least the next several weeks. 

Paul Hart who has lived on his property for the last 22 years said he lost at least 100 trees in the powerful storms.

"I've never been able to see through this woods since I've lived here and it knocked all the neighbors woods down too, when we clean it up it's going to look so weird,” said Hart. 

Before Memorial Day, his property was heavily wooded, but now his landscape has changed forever. 

"The worst thing right now that bothers me is losing all the trees, some of them are 100 years old and they're gone,” said Hart.  

Hart does know he is fortunate, his home is still standing, his roof is getting patched up and his family isn’t injured. 

But, he said as the tornado ripped through the area he wasn’t sure what the outcome would be.   

"I've never seen nothing like it, it was so fast, I thought we was gonners,” said Hart.  

Just down the road two of his neighbors lost their homes when the tornado leveled them. 

The Miami County Sheriff’s Office had deputies out all over the area working to respond to the damage calls during the height of the storm, with some help of neighboring Fulton County deputies and ISP.   

"The storm really passed along a straight line along our County Road 1500 North, just about a mile south of the Miami Fulton County line,” said Deputy Chief Dave Vitek with the Miami County Sheriff’s Office.  

While some homes were destroyed and dozens and dozens of trees were scattered through the area, many homes were left intact and most importantly, no one was injured. 

"That's just the fickle nature of a tornado and that type of wind damage where one home will sustain massive damage and another home will remain untouched. It just gets back to the fact that we are so blessed with the amount of destruction we had here and some of these as you see behind me, totally destroyed, but no injuries,” said Vitek.   

"Some of them got worse than me and we're lucky we didn't get hurt and everything can be fixed,” said Hart.