Indiana Gov. and Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence returned to the Hoosier state Thursday to view tornado damage and speak with those impacted by the severe weather that moved through the city of Kokomo and surrounding counties on Wednesday.

Pence traveled by motorcade to through neighborhoods which sustained extensive damage from a large tornado.

“I will tell you that walking through the neighborhood across the highway – it’s just very moving to me,” said Pence near the site of a Starbucks that was demolished by storms the day before. “… To talk to these families and family members who were in their homes and to see these homes virtually completely destroyed, but because of people’s quick thinking; because of a good early warning system here locally, there’s no serious injury – there’s no loss of life. That’s a miracle.”

Pence praised the efforts of Kokomo Mayor Greg Goodnight and the first responders who were on scenes of emergency into the night Wednesday.

“We’ve had a huge amount of outreach from the state,” said Goodnight.

Around 50 Indiana State Troopers are offering support throughout the city. The Indiana Department of Transportation is also offering a supporting role, the mayor said, as well as street crews from surrounding communities. Goodnight said mayors from all directions in the state have reached out.

Pence was accompanied by Lt. I Gov. Eric Holcomb, Sen. Joe Donnelly and Congressman Todd Rokita, whose 4th Congressional District includes Kokomo and western Howard County.

“This is one of the most resilient, tough towns you will ever find,” said Donnelly, detailing Kokomo’s past with turbulent weather. “When we talked to the families, every single one looked at us and said, ‘We’re going to rebuild, this is our home, this is our ground, this is where we live and this is where we’re going to stay.’”

Pence also went to an emergency shelter for people displaced by the storm to take photos, shake hands with volunteers and speak with the families forced to call the center home for the unforeseeable future.

“The state of Indiana is playing a supporting role,” Pence said. “But the efforts here to give proper warning to this community, to be there for the families once this very serious storm and tornado moved through this area is a great credit to a city that knows how to deal with difficulty.” 

Neuenschwander writes for the Kokomo, Indiana, Tribune.