After tornadoes tear through West Michigan, emergency workers search through wreckage

Thunderstorms and tornadoes mauled the Midwest, tearing through several western Michigan communities Tuesday evening, leaving a trail of wreckage that weather and emergency officials began evaluating in the light of day.

At least two tornadoes, perhaps more, touched down in Michigan starting at about 6 p.m.: one — maybe two — in Portage and another in St. Joseph and Branch counties, National Weather Service officials in Grand Rapids said early Wednesday.

A third tornado, the weather service said, may have touched down near Dowagiac in Cass County.

And for the first time in Michigan, a tornado emergency — the weather service’s highest alert level — was issued. The designation, which was created about a decade ago, indicates that catastrophic damage was imminent with a dangerous, perhaps deadly tornado headed toward populated areas.

But no one, it appeared early Wednesday, had been killed or was seriously injured.

"The early warnings saved lives," said Ernie Ostuno, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Grand Rapids, adding that the awareness building up to the dangerous weather event helped. "The warnings went out and people reacted to them."

Still, utility crews were scrambling early Wednesday to reconnect electricity to tens of thousands of homes.

See the videos: West Michigan tornadoes leave path of destruction

And Gov. Gretchen Whitmer assured residents — especially those without homes — help was on the way.

Injuries, emergency officials said, included at least 20 people who were taken to hospitals and destruction to 176 homes in Kalamazoo County alone, a FedEx facility, and damage to other buildings in Portage and in St. Joseph and Branch counties.

News reports initially said as many as 50 people were trapped in the FedEx building, but Nick Armold, director of Public Safety for the city of Portage, clarified later that "nobody was injured and nobody was trapped there."

Where tornadoes didn’t touch down, the threat ended, in most places, by midnight.

Related: West Michigan tornadoes leave multiple injuries at mobile home park, damage FedEx facility

Homes flattened, power out

In western Michigan, first responders in the worst hit areas have been looking for residents whose whereabouts were not immediately known, but as the storms headed east, weather service officials said, they lost potency.

There was some storm damage in metro Detroit, the weather service in White Lake Township said, mostly along the shoreline of Lake St. Clair and in parts of Macomb County, but it was nowhere near the destruction Michiganders on the other side of the state faced.

On the state's west side, several homes seemed to have been flattened as if smashed from above, and buildings had parts torn apart, with twisted metal siding and missing rooftops.

"My heart goes out to all those affected by tonight’s severe weather," Whitmer said around 8 p.m. Tuesday, as she declared a state of emergency for southwest Michigan. "State and local emergency teams are on the ground and working together to assist Michiganders."

In Pavilion Estates Mobile Home Community, some of the manufactured homes — which are especially vulnerable to destructive twisters — looked in photographs as if they had been rolled over or picked up and tossed about.

The Michigan Manufactured Housing Commission requires mobile home communities built after 1995 to have a storm shelter onsite, and safety experts urge mobile home residents to have another place — a shelter or friend's basement, perhaps — where they can go in the event of a tornado alert.

Kalamazoo County, which includes Portage and the mobile home park, seemed to take the brunt of the destruction, with more tornadoes reportedly hitting Indiana and Ohio, which meteorologists said should be expected this time of year.

Potentially more than 100 people were in need of shelter, Mary Beth Block, a spokeswoman for the City of Portage, told the Free Press, with displaced residents staying at the local First Assembly of God church at 5500 Oakland Dr.

A second shelter at Radiant Church, 995 Romence Rd., may be opened Wednesday night.

People who need help could call 211 or the Red Cross at 800-733-2767.

Block said many people have asked how they can help, including donations or with clean up, and the city is working on a plan. However, she added, officials are asking that residents not yet try to clean up public spaces because there still could be hidden dangers, such as downed power lines.

Storms on top of each other

In a Tuesday night news conference, Kalamazoo County Sheriff Richard Fuller said a tornado tore through the county, sweeping across the area from Texas Township, through Portage and into Pavilion Township, with "significant damage" to homes, including 15 or more that were "totally destroyed."

He described a community filled with wreckage.

Homes were in roadways and on top of other homes, as were trees, tree limbs and smashed vehicles.

More: Portage, Michigan tornado destroyed mobile homes, injured about 12

At one point, Fuller said, more than 100 first responders were in the mobile home park treating people for injuries and going door-to-door accounting for residents and looking for anyone who might have been harmed or missing.

And even as emergency workers were helping residents, another storm cell swept through the area.

Fuller, however, said he was relieved to learn that many of the residents were paying attention to the weather alerts and warnings, and as the night went on, the dire forecasts may have helped because there did not seem to be any life-threatening injuries.

He said the alarms and sirens worked.

"The good thing is we’re hearing more and more," Fuller said, adding that first responders have "done multiple searches to ascertain the information, but there was nobody in those homes that were hurt significantly. There are injuries.”

More searches, he said Tuesday night, are necessary.

The Red Cross, Fuller added, was working to find shelter for residents who lost their homes, and wireless telephone companies were trying to set up temporary networks to allow families — and anyone who might need help — to communicate.

Michigan power outage map: How to check your status after latest round of storms

Weather has been a problem on the western side of the state this year. In addition to the destructive tornadoes, rain and wind over the weekend in Holland damaged the flowers in the Tulip Time Festival, organizers said.

The storms, which forced cancellations, added to the annual tourist events woes.

By one count early Wednesday, an estimated 32,000 homes and businesses in Michigan were without power, as utilities, mainly Consumers Energy, which said it had about 24,000 customers without electricity, scrambled to secure and reconnect downed lines.

"Our Storm Response Teams are working around the clock to restore power as quickly as possible," Consumers said, urging people to report serious concerns to 911 and by calling the utility at 800-477-5050, to stay at least 25 feet away from downed power lines and "keep children and pets away."

Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan tornadoes damage areas in Portage, Branch and St. Joseph