After a series of tornadoes hit Southeast Michigan, cleanup and recovery efforts are underway. The National Weather Service confirmed that three tornadoes occurred in the Metro Detroit area during the severe weather.
Impact in Lincoln Park
An EF-0 tornado swept through Lincoln Park on Thursday. The winds reached up to 70 mph and caused significant damage in parts of the area. Julie Vasquez, a resident who grew up in Lincoln Park, described the aftermath. She saw uprooted trees and expressed disbelief at the destruction near Fort Street. The park in front of Kennedy Memorial Rec and Senior Center suffered, although the neighboring First Baptist Church remained unscathed.
“She was just here at a concert a couple weeks ago and I grew up here. It’s devastating,” said Vasquez.
Detroit’s New Liberty Baptist Church
In Detroit, an EF-2 tornado caused severe damage to homes and industrial buildings on Meldrum and Benson streets. The New Liberty Baptist Church experienced only a power outage despite the destruction around it.
“We were very amazed by the damage around us, but very little to our church building,” said Pastor Maurice Stimage.
Pastor Stimage, who has served the church for 20 years, noted the community’s intention to support those affected by the tornadoes. Small businesses nearby also face challenges in recovering from the damage.
Efforts by DTE Energy
DTE Energy’s Senior Vice President of Electric Operations, Brian Claka, reported that roughly 450,000 customers were initially affected by the storms. By Saturday afternoon, a workforce of around 4,000 utility workers was engaged in restoring power. As of 5:45 p.m. Saturday, 75,961 customers remained without power.
“Damage that I am seeing here is one of the, if not the most, significant damage due to a weather event in my career,” said Claka.
DTE is encouraging residents not to start cleanup efforts until the power lines in their area are deemed safe. Additionally, they advise against using generators indoors due to safety concerns.
“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,” urged Claka.
The company aims to restore power to 90% to 92% of its customers by Saturday night.