Michigan storm and tornado kills five and leaves several injured – with nearly 700,000 homes without power across Great Lakes and neighboring Ohio after 85mph winds tore off roofs, flipped cars and downed trees
Five people have been killed and about 700,000 are without power after storms swept into Michigan and Ohio overnight, spawning at least one confirmed tornado in their wake.
A mother in her 30s died along with her one- and three-year-old children when their seaplane car went off the road and crashed into another in torrential rain near Cedar Springs.
According to WILX, one person in Lansing died when a tree fell on their home, and one person died on I-96 near Williamston Road in Ingham County in a 25-car collision in winds of up to 84 mph.
Michigan has declared a state of emergency and has called in state emergency managers in the state plan to put drones in the air this morning to better map the damage.
And the National Weather Service has confirmed that a large and “extremely dangerous” tornado was recorded near Williamston in Ingham County at about 9:30 p.m. Thursday.
Social media images show the damage after tornadoes swept through Michigan
State Police issued a warning on Twitter: “SEVERE WEATHER ALERT: A debris-ball tornado has been reported heading east toward Webberville. Take shelter’
The storm, with wind gusts of over 80 mph, toppled cars, toppled trees, flooded cities, and destroyed buildings and homes.
According to tracker PowerOutage.us, the storms left 400,000 people without power in southern Michigan and nearly 300,000 in northern Ohio.
Some drivers were trapped in their vehicles after they overturned on I-96 Michigan State Police, Lieutenant Rene Gonzalez told CNN.
And according to WXYZ, at least one mobile home was flipped at Frenchtown Villa mobile home park in Monroe County.
The storms then moved east and hit the Detroit area, leaving some roads inundated.
The storm, with wind gusts of over 80 mph, toppled cars, toppled trees, flooded cities, and destroyed buildings and homes.
State Police issued a warning on Twitter: “SEVERE WEATHER ALERT: A debris-ball tornado has been reported heading east toward Webberville. Take shelter.’
The National Weather Service issued several tornado warnings, including those in Northwest Wayne and Northeast Washtenaw counties, which were in effect until 11 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.
“At 10:15 p.m., a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado occurred over Salem, or near Novi, traveling 50 mph to the east,” the weather service reported.
“Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without shelter. Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed. There will be damage to roofs, windows and vehicles. Tree damage is likely,” it added.
In Genesee County, six-inch-wide tree limbs had fallen, according to the Detroit News.
Search and rescue operations are reportedly underway after damage to the structure in Webberville.
The Kent County Sheriff’s Office set up an emergency operations center Thursday evening to coordinate rescue and recovery efforts throughout the community.
Sergeant Eric Brunner told Fox 17 that the team was “at full strength” and called in additional help.
Some drivers love to face a river on the road in Royal Oak Michigan
A mature tree was flung to the ground by the force of a gas station’s storm yards
An articulated truck was one of dozens of vehicles to overturn outside of Williamston, Michigan
A tornado swept through western Michigan on Thursday night, along with a series of thunderstorms that caused severe damage and left more than 240,000 citizens without power
Injuries have been reported in Kent County. According to Fox17, a woman and two children died in an aquaplaning crash
“What we’re seeing so far: Alpine Township, Plainfield Township and Grand Rapids Township are the hardest hit communities in our region. Alpine Avenue is impassable,” Brunner told Fox 17 on Thursday night.
He also said he saw a building destroyed and landed in the middle of the road, as well as a gas leak in the area.
“In a storm like that, you have limbs, branches, and entire trees that — in some cases — are blown right down the street, through neighborhoods, so (it’s) that kind of damage that we’re seeing,” Brian Wheeler, with Consumers Energy told FOX 17.
“It could be serious, in terms of the cleaning process, that could slow things down or affect things, so we’ll be aware of that,” he added.