AURORA, Ind. — Six tornadoes — three rated EF1 and three rated EF2 — have been confirmed from the storms that struck the Tri-State one week ago.
But for the people who lived through them, the storm count is only part of the story. The harder question is what happens once emergency crews leave and the cameras go away.
Kara Rigacci and her family were in the path of one of the EF2 tornadoes, where winds reached 130 mph at their strongest. Her family and neighbors were safe, but the destruction around them was significant.
I joined Kara at her home in Aurora this week to see how she's doing.
"Honestly, it's like surprising because you see everything that used to be there and it's not there anymore," Rigacci said.
Standing near the tornado's path, Rigacci described the scale of what was lost — and what, inexplicably, was not.
Watch as we walk around Rigacci's property a week after an EF2 tornado came through:
"Where we're standing right here, there was a whole garage, and then there was that pine tree right there, that was knocked over this way, and we still haven't got everything cleaned up," Rigacci said. "But the other neighbor, they still have a lot of cleanup to do. The whole side of the garage was ripped completely off it."
Some structures were completely destroyed. Others nearby were untouched.
"Crazy (thing) is that house wasn't touched. That house wasn't touched, and there's two houses in the backside of this field that weren't touched," Rigacci said.
The community response was immediate. Neighbors came together to help clear debris, move hay bales out of the road, cut down trees and check on one another.
"I can sit here and give a shout out to Prudenti Excavation. He helped my neighbor, stepped up and cleaned up his barn right here where we're standing, the neighbors came together helping get the hay bales out of the road, making sure that people were safe, cutting down trees, moving debris and stuff. And I mean, we still have a long cleanup. It's not over, even a week, it's not done," Rigacci said.
The experience has also changed how Rigacci thinks about severe weather going forward.
"I can tell you I'm gonna be awake from now on. It caught us off guard, so I don't think I'll let that happen again," Rigacci said.
Rigacci said she was shaken by the storm, but more than anything, she is grateful to be okay and live.
