ARMADA TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — As a tornado traveled down Main Street in downtown Armada in July of 2021, it left behind a trail of destruction.
A viral cellphone video shows the roof of a white building being ripped apart. That building is home to Armade in MI, a business owned by Justin Sebra.
“It's nothing to play around with," Sebra said of severe weather. "It’s over in minutes and your whole life is changed.”
Luckily, Sebra had already left downtown Armada and the store was closed, but the storm destroyed a nearby home and left families scrambling for safety.
“Alarms started going off on the phone and we were just talking about, 'Oh wow, doesn't seem that bad outside,'” recalled Armada resident Jay Burgher, a co-owner of Armade in MI at the time. “It seemed like it was no big deal, but we started hearing that wind and seeing the branches, so we actually went into the bathroom, grabbed the kids and pillows and went into the bathroom.”
Burgher lives on a farm in Armada in a ranch-style home with no basement. As the tornado touched down just a quarter mile away, he was huddled in a bathroom with his wife and young kids.
"Honestly, it was stressful,” Burgher said of the 15 to 20 minutes he spent in the bathroom with his family. “You could clearly hear when things got bad, and when winds let up.”
Macomb County Director of Emergency Management Communications Brandon Lewis urges people to take warnings seriously and to have a plan in case of severe weather.
“We send out these warnings when there is potential for life safety and injuries, and these storms can come on us so fast,” Lewis said. "Wind doesn't have to be a tornado to do significant damage. We actually see quite a few straight-line wind events every year that cause significant damage.”
Last month, our own meteorologist Mike Taylor walked us through the best places to be in a tornado. He says to avoid windows and exterior walls, and find an interior room like a bathroom to take cover in.
If possible, go to a basement, which would be the safest option. However, he says to take note of what’s directly above you.
“If it's the unfortunate circumstance you actually have a real tornado moving through your neighborhood, you don't want those heavy appliances in the kitchen to fall down into the basement,” Taylor said.
Related: Where are the safest areas of your home during severe weather? It's not as simple as you think
Having lived through one themselves, Armada residents say it’s best to have a plan, talk about it beforehand with your kids and don’t wait when the warning comes.
“There’s no, 'Oh, what should we do' questions because it’s minutes," Sebra said. "Not 15, 20, it’s usually on you.”
“Planning what we would do with the kids and kind of introducing them to it a little bit more and earlier, so they're expecting it and a little less alarmed if we have to move in a rush,” Burgher said.
