Severe Storms Batter Midwest, Damaging Buildings in Michigan
Tornadoes ripped through communities in Michigan on Tuesday evening as severe storms battered the Midwest, bringing more destruction a day after tornadoes in the southern Plains killed at least one person and damaged dozens of homes.
Officials in Kalamazoo County in Southern Michigan said they were responding to a tornado that struck Portage, a city of about 50,000, leaving streets were littered with downed power lines, trees and building debris.
The extent of the damage was not immediately clear, but local news outlets shared images from social media that showed damaged buildings and the collapse of a FedEx distribution center.
Another tornado warning was issued for Kalamazoo County, including Portage, even as emergency workers were responding to damage from the tornado that had hit earlier.
Officials in Kalamazoo County could not be immediately reached on Tuesday evening. Roughly 20,000 customers in the county were without power, according to PowerOutage.us.
As storms moved through the region on Tuesday afternoon, the Weather Service issued a string of tornado warnings in cities across Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan.