LAKEVIEW, OH (WLIO) - With so much destruction around Indian Lake, local residents have begun the long recovery process.
As the sun rose Friday, Indian Lake residents began surveying the damage caused by Thursday night's devastating tornado. On Friday afternoon, I traveled to Downtown Lakeview, where tornado survivor Vincent Plikerd Sr. shared his story of survival.
"Actually, when this started, I was in Wapak, and the sirens were going off there, so I decided to head home; finish up what I was doing," says Vincent Plikerd Sr. a tornado survivor.
Ultimately, a large, intense tornado caught up to Vincent and slammed his house.
"Got in the house; sirens are going off, and I took some video of the storms coming in from that way, just thinking it was thunderstorms, not tornadoes, and a little bit later... A few minutes later, I was taking a video with my camera. I was going to... And I heard that howl or that roar they always talk about, like a freight train, and I said, 'Oh my gosh, this is a tornado', and so I put the phone down, shoved the door, locked the door, and went and got under the stairwell because I don't have a basement in my house," shares Plikerd Sr.
After the tornado, Indian Lake residents were in desperate need for medical attention and supplies, and that's where RN Kourtney Thompson with Indian Lake Local Schools, along with community assistance, stepped in.
"When we very first got here around 9:30 last night [Thursday night], there were about 10... 15 people here looking for resources. Within an hour of getting here, 50 to 60 medical providers, nurses, doctors, EMTs arrived to volunteer and help, so we were able to create just that medical triage," says Kimberly Thompson, RN, District Nurse with Indian Lake Local Schools.
By sunrise Friday, a few donations trickled into Indian Lake High School, but in a matter of a few hours, an entire gymnasium was overtaken with items ranging from clothes, hygienic products, and food.
"It has blown up to what it has all due to our local community and surrounding communities that have just been very... just showing all their love and all their generosity to us," shares Thompson.
And all that love and generosity continues to pour into the Indian Lake region.
