The terrifying moments of a tornado that roars through Union City, Michigan were caught on camera by onlookers. A tornado in Michigan has killed four people, including a 12-year-old boy, according to the Associated Press.
The National Weather Service confirmed that an EF3 tornado with winds of at least 150 mph (241 km/h) touched down in the Union Lake area on Friday.
Terrifying visuals showed a powerful tornado hurtling through the city, destroying homes and uprooting trees in its path. Photos and videos posted on social media showed flattened homes and felled trees in the lakeside neighborhood.
Viral video of Michigan tornado
The viral video of the Michigan tornado was shared by Lisa Piper on Facebook. She caught it from her back deck.
Video showed the terrifying scene on the other side of frozen Lake Union as a funnel cloud formed and then descended to the ground on Friday. Trees were uprooted and debris flew into the air.
“It raises houses!” she said. As the devastation continued, she exclaimed, “Oh, my heart is pounding. Oh, I hope they’re all right.”
A separate video also showed people seeking shelter indoors as another tornado in the town of Three Rivers sent large chunks of debris and dust flying across a parking lot.
3 killed, 12 wounded in Michigan
Three people were killed and 12 were injured in the Union Lake area, according to the Branch County Sheriff’s Office.
First responders from several agencies in the Union Lake area near Union City were searching for other possible victims and working to clear roads, authorities said.
It was the second tornado to hit Union City in two years. An EF1 tornado with 95 mph (153 km/h) winds briefly touched down in May 2024, destroying a shed.
Strong thunderstorms that started in northern Indiana the previous day spawned several tornadoes in southern Michigan, National Weather Service meteorologist Lonnie Fisher was quoted as saying by AP. Fisher sent teams to the region to assess damage and confirm tornadoes.
“Most likely there were three different tornadoes, but we won’t know for 100 percent until they finish the survey,” Fisher said, adding that the storms quickly intensified in southern Michigan after hitting northern Indiana.
Oklahoma tornado
The weather service also reported seven preliminary tornado tracks in eastern Oklahoma that same day, according to the state emergency operations center.
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt declared a state of emergency in several counties to free up support and resources.
In Beggs, about 50 kilometers south of Tulsa, Oklahoma, a tornado was blamed for the deaths of two people at a home on Friday, the Okmulgee County Sheriff’s Office said. Two others were taken to hospital.
The deaths came a day after storms killed a 47-year-old woman and her 13-year-old daughter in their vehicle in Fairview in the western part of the state.
