COLON, Mich. — Homeowner Chase Royer described what he was feeling when a tornado formed just steps away from his home north of Colon on Tuesday.
“I stepped outside and I kind of looking towards where they said this tornado was forming and the clouds were doing some crazy stuff. And I told my fiancé I said, come look at this. This is wild. And then as we're watching it, I'm like, That's serious. Let's get to the basement,” said Royer.
He said at first he didn't think anything of the storm because of how common severe weather can be in his area.
But as the clouds started to turn, he realized it was serious.
“It wasn't a quarter mile from my house. I mean, it was in the field next to me,” said Royer.
He said eventually it was safe for his family to come out of the basement to find that somehow the tornado had missed his home.
Some of his neighbors’ homes were hit and he said people didn't hesitate to step in and help each other.
“People are out there trying to do the best they can to clean it up. Neighbors are coming together. It's kind of cool. It's a catastrophe. But it's cool to see the communities come together,” said Royer.
The Midwest region saw a total of seven tornadoes, at least four of which are believed to have been in Southwest Michigan and two of those four are believed to have hit Portage.
The storms caused severe damage ranging from uprooted trees to roofs blown off buildings. Some homes and businesses were destroyed. While no serious injuries were reported, the Kalamazoo County Sheriff said there are an estimated 16 to 20 people who sustained injuries in the Oak Brook Estates mobile home park in Portage alone.
Officials confirm one woman was rescued from under her mobile home. In the nearby FedEx Center, about 50 employees were temporarily trapped inside when the roof and front of the building blew off.
Crews are now working to clean up the debris and restore power.
In Kalamazoo County, over 18,000 are without power. In St. Joseph County, only about 4,000 Consumers Energy customers are impacted—but that is about 40% of the customers in that county.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has declared a State of Emergency for Kalamazoo, St. Joseph, Branch and Cass counties.
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