Tornado anniversary: Winchester community works to rebuild
On March 14, 2024, a devastating tornado impacted the Winchester and Selma communities.
An EF-3 tornado touched the ground, ranging in wind gusts from 136 to 165 mph. Its winds can destroy entire stories of well-constructed houses, severely damage large buildings, blow away structures with weak foundations and lift heavy cars off the ground.
On that day, many people were not expecting the severity of the storm to be what it was. For community member, Alan Hernandez, it was just a normal day of work for him at his restaurant.
“We started to hear all the phones with the tornado alarm, and I suddenly remember everyone starting to cash out,” Hernandez said. “Some people were staying and eating food or drinking margaritas. Then I saw the sky get dark, so I went outside to take some pictures and videos of a big cloud, and it looked weird,” Hernandez said.
Hernandezes business had minor damage, but that was not the same outcome for many in the community. Many neighborhoods, businesses and the Freedom Life Church suffered extreme damage, and are still under construction to this day.
The damage accumulated into the millions for the Winchester community. Winchester’s Mayor, Bob McCoy, saw first-hand the total amount.
“We had between $12 million -14 million in damages, which in property tax values equates to $200,000 – $300,000 in our budgets for the future to come,” McCoy said.
McCoy and the contractors collected data to be sent off to FEMA and the state for relief funds, but did not get the wanted outcome.
“We had over $800,000 – $900,000 bills that we asked to be submitted from our contracts to submit to FEMA or the state. We got little to none reimbursement back from FEMA or the state,” McCoy said.
During the storm, Hernandez and his wife were in two different parts of town, with little ability to communicate with each other.
“Me being so far away from him and not being able to talk to him, I was so scared,” Alexis Bercaw said. “Now, even when we have severe weather, it is scary. And when he had the first one, it was not expected,” Bercaw said.
After the storm hit, the community united as one. “The community came together as a whole, and the state of Indiana, surrounding counties and the mayors were all calling and offering their assistance,” McCoy said.
For Bercaw and her husband, they felt more connected with the community than ever.
“After that day, I feel so grateful to be in Winchester because the community came together, and we even made new friends out of it,” Alexis said.
With the spring weather, it is important to be weather aware. For more information on weather safety, visit the National Weather Service.
Contact Amelia Winter with comments at [email protected].
