2005 — Nov 6, Tornado, esp. Eastbrook Mobile Homes, Evansville/Warrick Counties, IN – 24-25

lornajarrettblanchard November 6, 2005

— 25 Blanchard tally based on county-level breakouts below, and on IndyStar.com report.[1]

— 25 Evansville Courier & Press, IN (Wilson). “Five years can’t dim memories…” 11-7-2010.[2]

— 25 IndyStar.com. “Starfiles: Indiana tornadoes.” 11-14-2011.

— 25 Wikipedia. “Evansville Tornado of November 2005.” 12-3-2011 modification.[3]

— 24 Indiana Tornadoes. “November 6, 2005 Evansville Tornado.” 11-6-2011.

— 24 NCDC, NOAA. Storm Events Database. Search Results for All Counties in Indiana.

— 24 Pharos-Tribune, Logansport, IN. “Tearful ceremony marks…anniversary.” 11-7-2006, A2.

— 23 NASA Earth Observatory. “Tornado Track Across Indiana and Kentucky.” 11-19-2005.

— 23 NWS WFO Paducah, KY. “November 6, 2005 Evansville Area Tornado.” 11-8-2011 mod.

— 22 Drabek, Thomas E. The Human Side of Disaster. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2010, 237.

Fatality Breakout by County

— 20 Vanderburgh. NCDC. Storm Events Database. Tornado, F3, IN, Vanderburgh, 11-6-2005.[4]

Male, 2. Male, 26. Male, 64. Female, 6. Female, 46. Female, 60. Male, 5. Male, 28. Female, 28. Female, 46. Female, 61.

Male, 25. Male, 38. Female, 31. Female, 56. Female, 67.

Male, 59. Male, 54. Female, 45. Female, 78.

— 4 Warrick. NCDC. Storm Events Database. Tornado, F3, IN, Warrick County, 11-6-2005.

Male, 4, mobile home. Female, 18, mobile home. Female, 18, vehicle.

Male, 33, mobile home.

— 1 Warrick County. Unborn child, 8 months. NCDC. Storm Events Database, IN, Warrick.[5]

Narrative Information

NCDC: “This was the deadliest tornado in Indiana since April 3, 1974. This tornado tracked a total of 41 miles from Henderson County, KY into Spencer County, IN. A total of at least 500 homes and buildings were destroyed or severely damaged. Much of the damage was upper F-2 to lower F-3 intensity. Although the tornado was up to 500 yards wide, the average path width was 275 yards. Of the approximately 230 injuries, 20 were critical, and 63 resulted in hospital admissions. This tornado was the more northern tornado of a pair of strong supercell tornadoes that occurred simultaneously. The southern tornado occurred in Crittenden and Webster Counties of Kentucky.”

NCDC, Vanderburgh County: “The tornado crossed into Vanderburgh County from Henderson County, KY a second time near Ellis Park, a horse-racing facility off U.S. Highway 41. The tornado moved rapidly east-northeast at close to 60 MPH, staying a mile or less south of Interstate 164 and the southern city limit of Evansville. Twenty people perished at a large mobile home park on the south side of the interstate. Of about 350 mobile homes in the park, 100 were destroyed and another 125 were damaged. Many of the destroyed homes were obliterated. The coroner reported that most of the victims were probably killed instantly, many by spine and skull fractures. Several bodies were carried almost two hundred yards. Several of the fatally injured persons were found in a nearby retention pond that was drained to find victims. An 8-year-old child was found alive in a ditch after being trapped under debris for about 12 hours. One person, who was thrown 150 feet, died of complications from tornado injuries on December 17. The tornado exited into Warrick County at the Angel Mounds State Historic Site, just south of Interstate 164.”

NCDC, Warrick County: “This tornado, which crossed into Warrick County from Vanderburgh County just south of Interstate 164 (at Angel Mounds), crossed the entire county in less than 20 minutes. The tornado reached its peak intensity in Warrick County, where winds reached about 200 MPH. The peak winds occurred along Highway 261 and Lincoln Road, in an industrial park near Paradise, and in DeGonia Springs. As the tornado passed south of Boonville, the county seat of Warrick County, a teenage girl was killed in a vehicle. In the community of DeGonia Springs, three persons in a mobile home were killed. One of the victims was a woman who was 8-months pregnant. From the north side of Newburgh to DeGonia Springs, houses were severely damaged or destroyed, and vehicles were tossed. Some of the tornado victims were moved 40 feet or more. The tornado passed just to the south of Tennyson before exiting into Spencer County.”

IndyStar.com: “An F3 tornado swept through Evansville just after midnight Nov. 6, 2005. Tornado warnings were issued 30 minutes prior to the touchdown, but many were asleep as the tornado hit. The Eastbrook Mobile Home Park on the southeast side of Evansville suffered the greatest damage, with nearly 100 of the 350 trailers in the park flattened. Twenty people in the park were killed and 230 were injured. Ellis Park Racecourse on the river near Henderson, KY was directly hit by the tornado, killing several racehorses and damaging several barns. Five people were killed when the twister struck Warrick County, just north of Evansville. In the end, the tornado left a damage path at least 41 miles long and 400 yards wide.” (IndyStar.com. “Starfiles: Indiana tornadoes.” 11-14-2011.)

Indiana Tornadoes: “Although there was only one tornado on this date, it was a big one. This is an ultimate example a tornado hitting a bad place at a bad time – namely, a mobile home park in the wee hours of the morning. This tornado killed 24, injured over 230, and was on the ground for 41 miles as it tracked through Vanderburgh, Warrick, and Spencer counties. It was deemed a high end F3 and was about a quarter mile wide. This was the deadliest tornado to hit the state in decades.” (Indiana Tornadoes. “November 6, 2005 Evansville Tornado.” 11-6-2011.)

Newspapers:

Nov 7: “Evansville (AP) – Rescuers scaled heaps of rubble to listen for survivors trapped in debris left by a tornado that ripped through communities in Indiana and Kentucky, killing 22…

“The tornado struck a horse racing track near Henderson, Ky., then crossed into Indiana, triggering emergency sirens that many people fast asleep early Sunday did not hear.

“Seventeen people died at a mobile home park in Vanderburgh County and five others died in neighboring Warrick County, east of Evansville. More than 100 people were taken to hospitals. “They were in trailer homes, homes that were just torn apart by the storm,” Deputy Vanderburgh County Coroner Annie Groves said. “It’s just terrible.”

“As darkness fell Sunday night, rescuers set up lights to continue searching Eastbrook Mobile Home Park. They roamed what had been yards or basements, holding flashlights and lifting debris to make sure no one was underneath. They searched for several hours after dark before breaking off for the night.

“Cranes lifted toppled mobile homes, and forklifts moved smashed cars into organized rows. Other heavy equipment rumbled through the debris as night fell and the air became crisp and cool. All the dead were in Indiana. The youngest victim was a 2-year-old boy who was killed along with his 61-year-old grandmother, the coroner’s office said….” (Pharos-Tribune, Logansport, IN. “Rescuers search for survivors.” 11-7-2005, p. 1.)

Nov 8: “Evansville (AP)….The twister, which slashed through Indiana and Kentucky early Sunday with winds estimated at more than 200 mph, killed 22 people. A few miles to the west in Evansville, crews drained and searched a large drainage pond next to the Eastbrook Mobile Home Park where four bodies were found Sunday. Authorities did not expect to finish draining the pond until midmorning today and residents likely would not be allowed to return to the area until Wednesday. A man’s body was found in the pond midday Monday, and while the pond is full of debris from the mobile home park, Vanderburgh County Sheriff Brad Ellsworth said [they] had not found any other victims.” (Pharos-Tribune, Logansport, IN. “Crews search pond for bodies of tornado victims.” 11-8-2005, 1.)

Nov 11: “Evansville (AP) — The final goodbyes for those killed in the deadliest tornado to hit Indiana in 30 years began Thursday with a slow walk past a tiny white casket that held a 4-year-old boy. More than 100 people attended the funeral for Isaiah Blaylock, one of the youngest victims of the Sunday tornado that killed 23 people in southern-Indiana….Isaiah, his father Brandon Blaylock, 25, and two grandparents were killed when the tornado struck the Eastbrook Mobile Home Park on Evansville’s southeast side 11 minutes after sirens warned the community of danger and two minutes after touching down. An uncle, Chad Blaylock, was ripped from the home and thrown into a retention pond. He survived…. The Blaylocks lost more than any family

in the park, where 19 people were killed. Four people died in nearby Warrick County, including a man, his pregnant wife and their 4-year-old son.

“Funerals were scheduled throughout the weekend, including services later Thursday for Eastbrook resident William C. Skaller, 64, and on Friday for other members of the Blaylock family….” (Pharos-Tribune, Logansport, IN. “Boy’s funeral first of many for Indiana tornado victims.” 11-11-2005, 2.)

Dec 14: “Evansville (AP) – Vanderburgh County officials will install four new emergency warning sirens, including one near a mobile home park where 19 people died in a Nov. 6 tornado. Officials selected the four new sites in mid-October, said Sherman Greer, director of the county Emergency Management Agency, told county commissioners Tuesday. One of the new sirens will be at a Vectren power substation near the Eastbrook Mobile Home Park.

“The sites were selected to cover areas not well served by the current 21 sirens, Greer said. He said the Emergency Management Agency also has funding for four more sirens next year.

“The tornado that struck the Eastbrook Mobile Home Park also killed four people in neighboring Warrick County. The tornado was Indiana’s deadliest in three decades, destroying at least 500 homes.

“Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel had said officials would ask the Vanderburgh County zoning commission to require warning sirens in subdivisions and mobile home parks. Locally, he also hopes to create tax incentives for mobile home park owners to build storm shelters.” (Pharos-Tribune, Logansport, IN. “Emergency sirens to be placed near Evansville mobile home park.” 12-14-2005, A2.)

Nov 7, 2006: “Newburgh, Ind. (AP) — Fire trucks raised their ladders to touch in an arch above a church doorway Monday night as survivors and volunteers gathered to mourn and remember the two dozen people lost a year ago to a violent tornado. With red lights flashing, the bridged ladders were a symbol of strength and recovery in the aftermath of a tornado that swept a 41-mile path of destruction on Nov. 6, 2005, program officials said.

“But for many of more than 1,000 people at the ceremony, the anniversary of Indiana’s deadliest storm in decades was emotionally draining. ‘This was going to be a difficult hurdle, whether we were here as a community or home alone,’ said John Martin, whose 2-year-old son, C.J., was killed in the storm. ‘This was a way that we could all take the hurdle together.’

“The tornado struck shortly after 2 a.m. with winds close to 200 mph. It tore apart hundreds of homes around Evansville and the nearby town of Newburgh as people slept. The tornado scattered fields with shorn homes, and the worst devastation was at Evansville’s Eastbrook Mobile Home Park, where 20 people were killed, including Martin’s son, mother and grandmother….

“The Storm: The tornado, which rated an F3 on the Fujita scale, covered an area more than 400 yards wide and 40 miles long. Its maximum wind speed was estimated at 200 mph.

“The Victims: Two dozen people died and more than 200 were injured. Most of the deaths were in the Eastbrook Mobile Home Park on the southeast side of Evansville, where more than 100 homes were destroyed and another 125 damaged.

“The Cost: More than $13 million in federal and state aid was distributed to help with temporary housing, repairs, funeral and medical expenses and cleanup.” (Pharos-Tribune, Logansport, IN. “Tearful ceremony marks deadly tornado anniversary.” 11-7-2006, A2.)

Sources

Drabek, Thomas E. The Human Side of Disaster. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2010.

Evansville Courier & Press, IN (Mark Wilson). “Five years can’t dim the memories. Families recall deadly tornado, the lost lives and loves.” 11-7-2010. Accessed 9-13-2015 at: http://www.courierpress.com/news/five-years-cant-dim-the-memories-families-recall

Indiana Tornadoes. “November 6, 2005 Evansville Tornado.” 11-6-2011. Accessed 5-31-2012 at: http://indianadoes.blogspot.com/2011/11/november-6-2005-evansville-tornado.html

Indystar.com. “Starfiles: Indiana tornadoes.” 11-14-2011. Accessed 5-31-2012 at: http://www.indystar.com/article/99999999/NEWS06/80312053/Starfiles-Indiana-tornadoes

NASA Earth Observatory. “Tornado Track Across Indiana and Kentucky.” 11-19-2005. Accessed 5-31-2012 at: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=6037

National Climatic Data Center, NOAA. Storm Events Database. Search Results for All Counties in Indiana. 11-6-2005. Accessed 9-13-2015: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/listevents.jsp?eventType=ALL&beginDate_mm=11&beginDate_dd=06&beginDate_yyyy=2005&endDate_mm=11&endDate_dd=06&endDate_yyyy=2005&county=ALL&hailfilter=0.00&tornfilter=0&windfilter=000&sort=DT&submitbutton=Search&statefips=18%2CINDIANA

National Climatic Data Center, NOAA. Storm Events Database. Tornado, F3, IN, Vanderburgh, 11-6-2005. Accessed 9-13-2015: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=5480597

National Climatic Data Center, NOAA. Storm Events Database. Tornado, F3, IN, Warrick County, 11-6-2005. Accessed 9-13-2015: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=5480598

National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office, Paducah, KY. “November 6, 2005 Evansville Area Tornado.” 11-8-2011 modification. Accessed 5-31-2012 at: http://www.crh.noaa.gov/pah/?n=evansvilletornado-nov.6,2005

Pharos-Tribune, Logansport, IN. “Boy’s funeral first of many for Indiana tornado victims.” 11-11-2005, 2. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=109279548

Pharos-Tribune, Logansport, IN. “Crews search pond…bodies of…victims.” 11-8-2005, p. 1. Accessed 9-13-2015: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=111694797&sterm

Pharos-Tribune, Logansport, IN. “Emergency sirens to be placed near Evansville mobile home park.” 12-14-2005, A2. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=109279869

Pharos-Tribune, Logansport, IN. “Rescuers search for survivors.” 11-7-2005, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=111694783

Pharos-Tribune, Logansport, IN. “Tearful ceremony marks deadly tornado anniversary.” 11-7-2006, A2. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=109277244

Wikipedia. “Evansville Tornado of November 2005.” 12-3-2011 modification. Accessed at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evansville_Tornado_of_November_2005

[1] Our figure includes death of 8-month-old unborn (or stillborn) girl in Warrick Co., though the NCDC does not. In that the IndyStar.com account notes five deaths in Warrick County we presume they, too, include this death. Same for Evansville Courier & Press (Mark Wilson) article, which notes name of “stillborn” child as Elaina Faith. In title line we note range of 24-25 to reflect the reporting of 24 deaths by sources we assume do not include stillborn death. The other cited sources are not correct – there were at least twenty-four deaths; 25 if the stillborn death is included.

[2] Writes: Cheryl Warren, 28; her husband, Jeremy, 44; son, Isaac, 4; and Elaina Faith, their stillborn infant, were among the last lives claimed by the tornado, which destroyed their modular home on a hillside parcel of family land near Degonia Springs, Ind.” Thus, it appears that the stillborn girl, Elaina Faith, is, in this account, the 25^th fatality.

[3] Provides no citation.

[4] All victims were from a mobile home park.

[5] This death is noted in the “Event Narrative” section of the NCDC of the “Event Details” for this tornado in Warrick County, but is not included in the “Event Fatality Details.” We include in that we believe there should be some consideration of this death in a total fatality tally.