KALAMAZOO (WKZO AM/FM) — Today is the anniversary of the 1980 tornado that devastated downtown Kalamazoo leaving five dead, 79 injured and the central city changed forever.
Anyone who remembers what Bronson Park was like before the twister, , realizes that the tree canopy still hasn’t recovered.
Developers are just now planning to redevelop what had once been a residential area in what is now called Arcadia West.
The F3 tornado left 11 miles of damage that actually began in Oshtemo, trailed into the city through the Westwood Neighborhood and scattered bank records from the Comerica Bank downtown all the way to Comstock Township.
The final damage estimate was over $50-million.
While most of the scars from the storm have long been erased downtown, many unseen scars remain.
