Severe weather recently swept through multiple communities in Metro Detroit, with the National Weather Service confirming that three tornadoes touched down in Southeast Michigan. This weather event has caused significant disruption to local communities.
“We were driving down, and we see these uprooted trees and we couldn’t believe it,” said Julie Vasquez, a resident of Lincoln Park, Michigan. She described the aftermath of an EF-0 tornado that moved through the area.
The tornado struck Lincoln Park on Thursday, where winds reached speeds of up to 70 mph. The storm heavily damaged the park in front of the Kennedy Memorial Recreation and Senior Center along Fort Street. Remarkably, the nearby First Baptist Church remained untouched.
“She was just here at a concert a couple weeks ago and I grew up here. It’s devastating,” commented Vasquez.
Another incident occurred at Meldrum and Benson streets in Detroit. The New Liberty Baptist Church experienced only a power outage after an EF-2 tornado hit, which caused extensive damage to homes, industrial buildings, and power lines in the vicinity.
“We were very amazed by the damage around us, but there was very little to our church building,” said Pastor Maurice Stimage, who has led the New Liberty Baptist Church for 20 years.
Stimage expressed concern for the community facing this level of devastation for the first time and pledged that church members would assist in recovery efforts.
“It’s just devastating. It just feels like we’ve been hit really hard. There are many small businesses in this area wondering how they’re going to come back from this type of devastation,” said Stimage.
DTE Energy Senior Vice President of Electric Operations Brian Claka reported that this event caused some of the most significant damage he has witnessed in his career. Around 4,000 utility workers have been deployed to restore power. The severe weather began on Wednesday, affecting approximately 450,000 customers. As of Saturday evening, 75,961 customers remained without electricity.
DTE Energy is working to ensure future power lines and poles are resilient. The company advises caution for those cleaning up and using generators. It warns not to use generators indoors due to safety risks.
“We do realize the generators are in use. I can hear a few going on right now. Please, please do not put them indoors. They should remain outdoors,” said Claka.
DTE aims to restore power to 90% to 92% of affected customers by Saturday night.