US: Two killed, 44 injured as rare tornado wreaks havoc across Northern Michigan

After a rare tornado tore through Northern Michigan, US on Friday afternoon, two people lost their lives while 44 others are reported to be injured, as per authorities. Furthermore, the deaths were verified by Michigan State Police on Friday evening and 44 injured individuals were brought to various hospitals in Northern Michigan. The condition of the injured is yet to be ascertained. Authorities on Saturday announced that one individual had gone missing, NBC News reported.  

The ravaging tornado has severely impacted the city of Gaylord which is roughly 230 miles north of Detroit. It caused damage comparable with an EF3 category (intensity of tornadoes based on the severity of the damage they cause) and had a maximum wind speed of 150 mph. 

Tornado wreaks havoc in US

In addition to this, as the storm wreaked havoc across busy commercial streets, roofs and walls were reduced to rubble and residences were demolished. Since tornadoes are a rare phenomenon in northern Michigan, Gaylord does not have a siren system to notify the citizens of impending danger.  

According to Lieutenant Derrick Carroll, PIO with the Michigan State Police, 6,500 households in Gaylord are without power. "The area is not safe we are in the process of stabilising it," Carroll added, further advising people who are affected to remain at home and seek shelter. Carroll also noted that both the fatalities were discovered at a mobile home park region that was badly struck by the spinning column of air. Carroll added that the two individuals that died were in their 70s and were staying in a mobile home park, ABC News reported.  

The rare tornado touched down at Nottingham Forest, a mobile home park, at 3:48 p.m. (local time) on Friday, then proceeded down the M-32 Highway into the Gaylord business hub, inflicting severe damage to additional commercial and residential properties in its path, according to Carroll. 

Approximately 95% of the mobile home park has been damaged, according to Otsego County Fire Chief Chris Martin, with "trailers picked up and turned over on top of each other," ABC News reported.  

The tornado lasted on the ground for roughly 26 minutes

In addition to this, the Science and Operations Officer with the National Weather Service (NWS), John Boris highlighted the fact that the tornado warning code 'red alert' gave residents in the Gaylord region only 10 minutes time to prepare. The tornado lasted on the ground for roughly 26 minutes, according to NWS data, with the storm travelling at around 55 mph. As per Boris, it went east into Gaylord before heading north.  

On Friday night, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued an emergency declaration for Otsego County. Taking to Twitter, she said, “Michiganders are tough. We are resilient. We will do what it takes to rebuild. There’s no challenge we cannot get through together.” 

(Image: AP)