Michigan tornadoes destroy a mobile home park and trap employees in a FedEx facility

Michigan tornadoes destroy a mobile home park and trap employees in a FedEx facility
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On Tuesday, the severe weather that has been uprooting the Plains states for weeks moved on to Michigan, trapping workers and completely destroying a mobile home park, according to officials.

Two tornadoes struck Portage on Tuesday, according to a statement from the mayor Patricia M. Randall. As of right now, there have been no reports of fatalities or injuries.

According to an email from Taylor Koopman, a spokesman for Kalamazoo County, one of the vortexes tore off the side of a large FedEx facility, trapping roughly fifty workers while emergency personnel attempted to remove live electrical wires obstructing their safe escape.

“The FedEx building in Portage sustained serious harm and is still an active scene,” she stated.

At Kalamazoo County’s Pavilion Estates Mobile Home Park, a tornado completely demolished every house, according to Koopman. According to her, there were rescue teams searching the area for survivors and people in need of temporary housing, which was provided by the Portage Senior Center.

While emergency personnel assessed the situation, locals were asked to remain where they were.

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“We have multiple scenes throughout the County and heavy damage,” Koopman stated. Numerous reports have surfaced regarding power disruptions, downed wires, and debris in the roads. We ask people to avoid driving as much as possible.”

Michigan utility tracker PowerOutage.us reports that more than 32,000 customers were without electricity on Tuesday night.

A barbershop in a Portage strip mall was depicted in imagery with its front torn off to reveal its interior.

“Due to fallen power lines and trees and possible leaks of gas we are urging residents to remain in their homes so first responders can get to those who need assistance,” Randall stated.

Tuesday afternoon, the National Weather Service issued an uncommon tornado emergency statement for a region southwest of Portage that includes Union City.

Even though the weather service normally waits until the following day to send trained crews to the sites of possible tornadoes for confirmation, a meteorologist for the agency stated on Tuesday night that one tornado and probably one or two others had all but been confirmed.

Waves of cool low-pressure storms from the Pacific Northwest have been moving eastward and colliding with the warmer climates of states close to the Gulf Coast, which has resulted in severe weather since mid-April. Unstable weather with a high risk of hail, flooding, and tornadoes has resulted from the colliding air.

On Monday, at least seven states reported 19 tornadoes.

According to the National Weather Service, many of the same areas would see severe weather over the next few days, possibly including thunderstorms and flash floods.

From northeast Texas to Virginia, an estimated 53 million people are at risk of severe storms on Thursday.

About 142 miles to the west of Detroit is Portage.

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