A tornado killed a 2-year-old boy and injured his mother after a series of storms tore through Michigan and Maryland, injuring five others.
Officials in Livonia, Michigan, said a rapidly developing tornado ripped through several neighborhoods of the city, causing destruction.
The storm caused an uprooted tree to crash through the roof of a family home and into a bedroom where a mother and her son were sleeping at the time.
Rescue crews spent nearly an hour clearing debris and maneuvering the massive trunk to free the victims.
The toddler died from the incident, while the mother was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition.
Meanwhile, in Maryland, five people were injured after another large tree fell through a family home. Leaving one person with ‘traumatic injuries’.
Officials in Livonia, Michigan, said a rapidly developing tornado ripped through several neighborhoods of the city, causing destruction
Meanwhile, in Maryland, five people were injured after another large tree fell through a family home. Leaving one person with ‘traumatic injuries’
Vehicles pass fallen leaves and branches on a road as storms hit Gaithersburg, Maryland
Chief of the Livonia Fire Department Robert Jennison told WDIV-TV that a two-week-old baby had also been sleeping in a crib in another room but was not injured.
They, along with the mother, were taken to a hospital for a precautionary examination, while the two-year-old child was pronounced dead on the spot.
“This is a terrible tragedy for our community,” Mayor Maureen Miller Brosnan said in the statement. “Our hearts are also broken and we express our deepest condolences.”
Livonia officials say the city activates sirens based on warnings from the National Weather Service or tornado sightings.
However, Emergency Preparedness Director Brian Kahn emphasized in a statement that they had not received any prior warning from the National Weather Service or any other source.
A National Weather Service representative attributed the event to a rapidly developing storm, a “spin-up,” that developed too quickly for radar to detect and provide timely warning, city officials said.
The National Weather Service in Detroit confirmed Wednesday evening that a tornado with a maximum wind speed of 90 mph passed through Livonia.
The agency said the twister traveled a path of more than 5 miles, uprooting and damaging trees and damaging some homes.
Workers remove portions of trees at a home on Hubbard Street after a storm in Livonia, Michigan, Wednesday, June 5, 2024
Laure Hibberd and her son Johnny Hibberd walk past a fallen tree in Rotary Park after a tornado ripped through the area in Livonia, Michigan
Injured tornado victims are moved to the front yard of a neighbor’s house in Gaithersburg, Maryland
First responders in Maryland, meanwhile, rushed to a group of people trapped in a structure that collapsed after the tornado strengthened during the deadly storms on Wednesday evening.
A tornado touched down in a suburb of Montgomery County, Maryland, northwest of Washington, DC
The National Weather Service issued an alert on social media urging residents to seek shelter.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue reported significant damage, including three collapsed buildings in Gaithersburg that trapped people.
A large tree falling on a house caused the most serious injuries; five people were taken to hospital, including one in critical condition.
Fallen trees caused widespread power outages, as shown in local television footage.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Assistant Chief David Pazos urged residents to use caution due to numerous downed trees and power lines.