Storms With 75 Mph Winds Down Trees and Power Lines in Suburban Detroit

Severe storms powered by winds of up to 75 mph (121 kph) in Michigan downed trees, tore roofs off buildings and killed five people while leaving hundreds of thousands of customers without power, officials said.

The National Weather Service said Friday some of the damage may have been caused by two tornadoes.

In the north Detroit suburb of Southfield, Muqitu (moo-QUEE’-too) Berry said he was in his ranch home about 9:30 p.m. Thursday when a large part of the trunk of a neighbor’s tree came crashing down.

The tree ended up across the front of Berry’s home and took down power lines, dropping them onto his driveway and at least one vehicle, leaving Berry and his neighbors without power.

Berry said Friday he “can't go anywhere. We are out of power. And it's very frustrating.”

Wayne County Executive Warren Evans declared a state of emergency Friday in Michigan’s largest county, which includes Detroit, due to power outages, flooding, fallen trees and power lines and storm debris.

Canton Township, a community of nearly 100,000 west of Detroit, was hit earlier this week by flooding in its downtown business district. Then Thursday night’s storms produced more severe weather.

“I’ve lived here almost 30 years -- next year it’ll be 30 years -- and I’ve never seen this, either,” township supervisor Anne Marie Graham-Hudak told reporters. “And the damage that I've seen from driving around even this morning, I've never seen it.”