More than 240,000 DTE Energy customers were left without electricity after severe storms swept across Metro Detroit, bringing down trees and power lines and prompting an investigation into whether a tornado struck the city’s east side.
The National Weather Service was due to survey the damage on Friday to determine whether the destruction in Detroit was caused by a tornado or powerful straight-line winds.
Islandview was among the neighbourhoods hit hardest. Roadblocks were put in place around parts of Vernor and Beaufait after power lines fell, while residents faced a lengthy clean-up operation across the area.
If confirmed, the tornado would be the first to hit Detroit in almost 30 years, since 1997. Officials cautioned that the nature of the damage would need to be assessed before any conclusion could be reached.
Detroit mayor Mary Sheffield urged residents to remain patient as city departments worked to clear debris and protect affected communities.
“The safety of our residents is my number one priority, and we have all of our departments working together to clean up our city, to keep our residents safe, and to ensure that we get through this in a safe way,” she said.
DTE power restoration plan
DTE said it had already restored electricity to more than 70,000 customers affected by storms that struck south-east Michigan on Wednesday and Thursday.
The utility said it expected to restore power to 65 per cent of affected customers by the end of Friday, 90 per cent by the end of Saturday, and the remainder by the end of Sunday.
About 3,400 members of DTE’s storm response operation were working on the restoration effort, including more than 1,000 line workers brought in from outside Michigan.
Residents were warned to stay at least 25 feet away from fallen power lines and to treat every line as live, even if it appeared harmless. Anyone using a generator was advised to keep it outdoors and away from doors and windows.
Further storms were forecast for Friday, with damaging winds and flooding rain identified as the main risks. Some locations could receive between one and two inches of rain, raising the prospect of flooded roads.
A second band of storms was expected to move into south-east Michigan between 9am and noon, although forecasters said it could weaken before reaching the region. The final storms were expected later on Friday, with conditions expected to improve over the weekend.
Residents were asked to report storm damage and flooding through Detroit’s Improve Detroit app.
