AT least 8 people have been killed as a series of monster tornadoes ripped through the central part of the US.
The terrifying twisters began across the Heartland region on Thursday and continued to tear across southern Michigan on Friday night with over 100 million Americans under an extreme weather alert.
Teacher Jodie Owens, 47, and her 13-year-old daughter Lexi have been confirmed dead after their van was caught in the path of a devastating tornado on Thursday night in Fairview, Oklahoma.
Their vehicle was lifted up by the powerful tornado and both were found dead inside at the scene of a crash that officials believe was caused by the twister.
Family members have said the terrified mother had been begging her children to stay at home when the storm hit as she watched the skies darken on her drive home.
“She could see a storm was coming,” Owens’ brother Justin Zonts told KOKH.
“She called her children who were still at home to say, ‘Hey you need to get into a cellar’. That’s actually when she got hit.
“She was on the phone with her daughter, who heard her mom and sisters’ last cry before the line went dead.”
Officials confirmed that two others were killed on Friday night in Beggs, Oklahoma, which is over 170 miles away from Fairview, as the severe weather system tore through the state, bringing with it hail the size of golf balls.
Four other fatalities have been confirmed so far in the Union Lake area of Michigan with shocking footage showing debris from torn up homes and vehicles being flung into the sky.
Three of these deaths were in Branch County where terrified residents called the tornado the “Godzilla of twisters”.
Parking lots, storefronts, homes, and power lines have all been reduced to mangled shells and rubble in the wake of the weather system with thousands without power as of Saturday morning.
Resident Lisa Piper stood on her back deck and filmed from the other side of frozen Union Lake as a funnel cloud formed and then dropped toward the ground. Trees were torn from their roots and debris flew into the air.
“Its lifting houses,” she said. As the devastation continued, she exclaimed: “Oh my heart is pounding. Oh, I hope they’re OK.”
Branch County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that as of 8pm local time on Friday, there were 12 reported injuries, with three taken to hospital, as well as three fatalities.
“Our thoughts are with those who have lost family, friends, and property during this incident,” Sheriff Frederick A. Blankenship said.
The fourth Michigan victim died after a tornado hit the Edwardsburg region, Cass County Sheriff Clint Roach confirmed as county officials declared a state of emergency.
Residents of all tornado-hit regions have been told to avoid the affected areas and to stay away from damaged or unstable structures.
Downed power lines, fallen trees and debris should also be avoided.
Additional severe weather is expected to continue through the weekend with many being awoken by sirens.
“Who else woke up to tornado sirens going off this am?!” one Kansas City resident said on X.
Another who saw footage of one of the twisters throwing debris around a Three Rivers parking lot called it “insane.”
“That video is insane—watching the debris just explode everywhere and the Menards roof peel off like it’s nothing,” she wrote, adding prayers to those in the region.
Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/16051508/tornado-michigan-oklahoma-dead-weather-alert-sirens/
