Officials: More Than 50 Homes Damaged By Portland Tornado
PORTLAND, Mich. (WWJ/AP) - Officials say more than 50 homes were damaged by a tornado that struck the Michigan community of Portland.
Churches and other buildings were damaged Monday in Portland, about 25 miles northwest of the Michigan state capital of Lansing. A mother and two small children were rescued from a collapsed Goodwill store and two others were helped from a damaged pharmacy.
The National Weather Service says Portland was hit around 2:30 p.m. with an EF-1 rated tornado that packed winds of around 100 mph. The twister was on the ground for about 10 minutes. No serious injuries were reported.
Portland Mayor James Barnes, who was working in Ann Arbor at the time, said the twister touched down and left in a flash.
[Multiple Tornadoes Touch Down In Michigan; Power Outages, Damage Widespread]
"As it turned out, it hit so quickly they didn't even have a chance to sound the sirens — and that was nobody's fault," he said.
Barens said he is working with county and state officials to have a state of emergency declared.
The American Red Cross has set up a shelter at Portland Middle School, on Oak Street, for anyone who has been displaced because of the storms.
The tornado in Portland was one of at least two others that touched down in Michigan during the storms.
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