"When you see the images coming from Alabama or Oklahoma or wherever... those happen in our backyard."
Ernie Ostuno with the National Weather Service office in Grand Rapids is referring to the catastrophic destruction left behind from very rare category 5 tornadoes on the Enhanced Fujita scale.
West Michigan has experienced destruction of that magnitude only once since we began keeping records: April 3, 1956. It left a swath of damage, injuries and death in its wake. Homes were completely leveled but the landscape today looks much different.
Brookhaven Mobile Home Park was one of those communities that looked more like a war zone rather than a neighborhood.
This is an aerial photograph taken after the F-5 tornado wiped out part of the park in 1956 compared with how the same spot looks today. This section of West River Drive is just north of Fifth Third Ballpark.
Storm damage in Kent County from 1956
Modern-day West Michigan has experienced a lull in strong to violent tornadoes and the weather community is becoming increasingly concerned with the area's complacency.
The US Census Bureau estimates there are over eight thousand people living in mobile homes in Kent County and there are tens of thousands living in apartment complexes. Many of those residents don't have access to a basement which is regarded as the safest place to be during a tornado.
Chief John Lehman, Grand Rapids Fire Chief and Emergency Manager says, “You want to find a place that has good access to a basement. Something that might be open 24 hours. Something that where you know ahead of time that you’re going to be able to get into it... an underground parking structure might be a very good location.”
Create a Plan and Practice It
- Ask your property manager if there is a designated storm shelter on site.
- If not, go to nearby businesses and ask if any of them offer shelter to the public in the event of severe weather.
- Be sure you can get to your shelter within five minutes.
- If no shelter is available and severe weather is in the forecast, consider spending the day with friends or family at a different location.
Meteorologist Ostuno says, “Think about what you would do after the storm. Say your house blew away. This happened in ’56 where people... went in their basement, their house blew away and then they realized, ‘I don’t have shoes on.'"
Pack an Emergency Bag
- First aid kit
- Bottled water and non-perishable food
- Shoes/extra clothes
- Flashlight
Today, Brookhaven Park is completely rebuilt with no evidence of the natural disaster and most residents have no idea they’re living on the exact spot where lives were literally turned upside-down.
While the likelihood of sustaining a direct hit from a tornado is low, it does happen. The best way to stay safe is to be prepared.
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