WHITEHALL, Mich. — Early morning storms Tuesday ripped through west Michigan- hitting residents with winds up to 70 miles per hour.
Damage across the area is extensive, with many homes in Muskegon and Oceana counties impacted by storm damage.
In the wake of the storms, city and electric crews have been working to remove fallen trees from roadways and remove downed powerlines.
What those crews are unable to do, is clear private property- leaving many scenes of broken trees and impacted houses.
Grant Belinger lives in Whitehall- a town hit hard by Tuesday's storms. Wednesday, Belinger was forced to hide in his basement, hiding from winds he described as "screaming."
"It's been a long time since we've seen damage like this," Belinger said.
Belinger's house was hit by a fallen tree. His pontoon was flipped upside down from the storms. Just one door down, Belinger's niece has her home. Wednesday morning, an over 50-foot tree rested on her balcony, its roots were torn from the ground.
"We did hear a huge crash," Belinger said. "That's probably my garage door being hit with near a half a ton or more of oak tree."
Belinger's damage was one of the worst in Whitehall. He said once the storms passed, he was left with piles of fallen trees, a hole in the roof and a flipped pontoon.
Nearby, crews worked on repairing power lines, but left Belinger's home alone.
"The weight of these trees, and the amount of damage done," Belinger said. "One person can't handle it. It's just too intense down here."
In his situation, Belinger said there was one option.
"Contact your insurance," Belinger said. "That's all you can do."
Belinger's storm damage is one of many across the region. Damage spanned from on top of houses, in lawns, on roads and into the lakeshore.
While the damage needs to be removed insurance is not always the answer. As Jim Mines, the owner of Anchor Insurance Group in Muskegon, said, logistics may make home damage unable to be covered.
According to Mines, insurance can only cover insured property. Wind damage, he said, is almost always covered by insurance.
"That could be a fence, that could be a house, that could be a shed," Mines said. "The tree is covered to be removed."
What gets trickier is falling trees, not counting as property itself, but will be removed if damaging actual property.
Mines said most insurance companies have tree removal companies on call in severe storms to respond when damage is sustained by insured property. Meaning the insurance company will handle the removal of fallen trees.
However, if a tree falls on uninsured property, like a yard, Mines said you may be out of luck.
Even though some fallen trees may not qualify, Miles said if you are on the fence, it's better to be safe than sorry. His office offers a guide through the process of covering storm damage.
Miles said if you have any storm damage, and are covered by his group, you should give his office a call.
"We will work through the process and see what kind of damage they have," Miles said. "What is covered, and what is not recovered."
If nothing else, Miles said, Insurance companies will have recommendations for removal services- ensuring a reliable group to work with.
Miles also said he wanted to warn West Michigan residents to be wary of post storm scammers- who will pretend to be tree removal services. A group wanting money upfront, Miles said, is a red flag for scammers.
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