PLAINFIELD, Mich. — A tornado passed through many West Michigan communities Thursday night leaving several people displaced.
13 ON YOUR SIDE spoke to a homeowner on Belmont Avenue who lives next door to his father. Jason Brinks describes last night as something "like he’s never seen before."
"It felt surreal," said Brinks.
Jason’s father’s home is just one of many on the long stretch of road in Belmont that was destroyed after last night's storm. Like many others, this all happened unexpectedly for Jason and his family.
“It happened so fast. And it was just a blink of an eye. And it was right here and on top of us,” said Brinks. “We were actually having a birthday party for my daughter and the tornado warning hit.”
He says they went to look outside and saw something they’ve never seen before.
“When we stepped past the front of the garage elect, we actually saw the rotation in the sky, and the clouds and the the debris and everything else actually turning radius And we actually ran the basement,” said Brinks.
And once they were safe in the basement all they could do was wait it out.
“The wind and everything else was just howling and you could hear stuff hitting the house? And yeah, it was it was pretty intense for a couple minutes,” said Brinks.
And while Jason and his family were lucky to not have damage. Just next door at his father’s house, multiple trees fell on their roof and winds ripped their front lawn apart. Jason says it’s something you never think could happen to your family.
"It didn't feel possible that it could be hitting us like this here. You'll see it on the news, and you'll see it happen to other people, but to have it actually happen to you is just incredible. And it just gives you a kind of a unique sense of loss and how things can change in a heartbeat,” said Brinks.
Luckily no one was inside, “Gotta be thankful that everybody was safe and spared," said Brinks.
And while Plainfield township and surrounding areas were hit the hardest, the fire chief said the storm didn’t cause major injuries to residents.
“Nothing serious. We had two incidents where we had power lines, live power lines down on cars. And I believe both of those incidents turned out. Okay,” said District Chief, of Plainfield fire Pat Duvall.
Many trees and power lines are still down while crews work to get everything back to normal. For now, officials say to let the professionals take care of the damage to prevent any other injuries.