On Wednesday, a tornado described by the US National Weather Service as “large and extremely dangerous” tore through central Indiana, overturning cars and levelling a Starbucks store, Weather.com reports. Miraculously, no injuries have been reported.
The tornado’s destruction was widely documented on social media. One video, provided to WTHR-TV by witness Brandon Mobley, appears to show the moment the Starbucks in Kokomo, Indiana, collapsed.
“We want to express our heartfelt concern for all those personally affected by a tornado that touched down in the community Kokomo, Indiana, this afternoon,” said the coffee company in a statement. “We are relieved to report all partners (employees) and customers from the Starbucks store at US 35 & SR 22 are safe.”
Markland Mall Starbucks in Kokomo. Manager says everyone got out OK. They were in the bathroom during the tornado pic.twitter.com/FAJG1H57fs
— Kayla Sullivan (@KaylaReporting) August 24, 2016
Angel Ramos, shift manager, embraced by friends, his manager. He had employees and customers take cover in bathroom. pic.twitter.com/m1tPJvvgOh
— Cara Ball (@CaraKTVideo) August 24, 2016
According to WLS-TV, Kokomo appeared to be the town hit hardest by the cyclone, just one of six that touched down in the state today. A Homeland Security spokesperson said that over 30,000 power outages have been reported in the region so far.
“We went to open the door to go to the basement and then it all just came in and it jerked the door out of my hand and we had to shut it, and then we ran into the bathroom, and then the furnace exploded and we all hid in the tub,” survivor Jaylin Tibbon told WLS-TV. “It was scary.”