An EF3 tornado with 150 mph winds devastated Union City while a state of emergency has been declared for three counties as cleanup and recovery efforts continue
Four people are dead and at least 12 others were injured after a tornado outbreak tore through southern Michigan on Friday night, leaving trails of destruction across multiple communities and prompting Governor Gretchen Whitmer to declare a state of emergency for three counties. Branch, Cass and St. Joseph counties, all running along Michigan’s southern border with Indiana, are now the focus of an active state-coordinated recovery effort as residents and officials work to assess the full scale of the damage.
Two of the four victims have now been publicly identified. The Cass County Sheriff’s Department confirmed that 12-year-old Silas Anderson died after a tornado touched down in Milton Township, just outside Edwardsburg. Authorities received a call reporting Anderson missing, and when first responders arrived, the boy had already been found with his family attempting to provide first aid. He was transported to South Bend Memorial Hospital, where he later died. A funeral home obituary identified a second victim as Penni Jo Guthrie, a 65-year-old Union City woman whose home was completely destroyed by the storm. Two additional fatalities have been confirmed, though those individuals had not been publicly named as of the time of reporting.
The storms and what they left behind
The National Weather Service conducted surveys on March 7 and has confirmed the strength of two of the tornadoes that struck the region. In Union City, an EF3 tornado touched down near Union Lake with estimated peak winds of 150 mph, causing severe structural damage to multiple homes in the area. That single storm was responsible for three deaths and 12 injuries. The NWS noted that ongoing damage and limited access to certain locations is restricting the full assessment of the tornado’s path.
Three Rivers was struck by an EF2 tornado with estimated peak winds of 130 mph. Initial survey efforts focused on the area near Michigan 60 and West Broadway Street, where a number of commercial structures sustained significant damage. That tornado was associated with 10 injuries. A separate survey for the Edwardsburg tornado was planned for Sunday as officials continued to piece together the complete picture of the outbreak’s reach.
A historic and grim milestone
Friday’s four deaths represent the deadliest single day for tornadoes in Michigan since 1980, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It ranks as the seventh deadliest such day in the state since records began in 1950. The most catastrophic day on record remains June 8, 1953, when 125 people were killed, the majority in Flint. April 11, 1965, claimed 53 lives across southern Michigan, and April 3, 1956, resulted in 22 deaths concentrated largely in the Grand Rapids area.
Recovery efforts ramp up
Governor Whitmer’s state of emergency declaration ensures that every available state resource is directed toward response and recovery in the affected counties. The Michigan State Police Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division is coordinating operations through the State Emergency Operations Center. Whitmer joined state police on Sunday to tour the impacted areas by helicopter and assess damage firsthand.
In Three Rivers, search and rescue operations were still active as of Saturday afternoon. Residents were urged to stay out of storm-damaged areas while crews worked to clear downed power lines and check severely affected locations. Officials indicated that coordination with the United Way of St. Joseph County would follow once areas were deemed safe for volunteers.
In Union City, cleanup began almost immediately after the storm passed. For business owner Duane Green II, the experience carried a personal weight that his previous disaster relief work in North Carolina, Missouri and Alaska had not. He has volunteered with Samaritan’s Purse, a nonprofit organization specializing in post-storm recovery, but confronting destruction in his own backyard brought the reality of the situation into sharper focus than any of his previous deployments.
Source: Detroit Free Press