Kokomo tornado: 1 year later
KOKOMO, Ind. (WISH) – Thursday marked exactly one year since a tornado ripped through Kokomo, destroying homes and damaging businesses throughout the city.
A construction crew is still working to repair the Park Place Apartments, which were severely damaged during the storm. A new house is now standing on Imperial Drive, where the storm flattened a home. No one reported any injuries from the storm.
A viral video showed the tornado destroying a Starbucks near the Markland Mall. James Arnett, a Starbucks customer, was one of more than 20 people who crammed into the bathrooms for safety.
“Everybody’s ears were popping like crazy, one right after the other,” Arnett said. “I made the comment, ‘That’s not a good sign. That means it’s right above us.’ That’s when the roof came off.”
A new Starbucks is now going up where Arnett used to drink his coffee every day.
“Where I used to sit, I’d have been flat as a pancake,” Arnett said.
He still remembers hearing a severe weather warning on his phone. Arnett said he tried to leave, but a Starbucks shift manager quickly and calmly told everyone to huddle in the bathrooms.
“He saved peoples’ lives that day, there’s no question,” Arnett said. “I’m just so thankful God used him the way he did, and his name is very fitting for that obviously.”
That very fitting name: Angel Ramos.
“We followed protocol,” Ramos said. “It was definitely a team effort. The amount of support throughout the following days and weeks was nothing I ever expected.”
Ramos said he’s heard people call him a lifesaver, but you won’t catch him bragging about Aug. 24, 2016.
“I’m just glad the architects did their job well,” Ramos said.
The storm sent thousands of people into action. Volunteers from all over the state drove to Kokomo in the days following the storm, and work is still being done to make up for damages.