Police report 2nd death from tornado in northern Michigan

GAYLORD, MICH. » A second person died in a tornado that hit northern Michigan, authorities reported Saturday, as crews searched a mobile home park that was virtually destroyed by a rare twister in an area with no weather sirens.

The person, who was in their 70s, lived in the Nottingham Forest mobile home park in Gaylord, which was among the first sites hit by the tornado Friday afternoon, said state police Lt. Derrick Carroll.

The first reported death, another person in their 70s, also lived there, Carroll said.

“There have been trailers picked up and turned over on top of each other. Just a very large debris field,” said Chris Martin, Otsego County fire chief. “Crews are in there right now doing a secondary search with heavy equipment.”

He said there’s “probably 95% destruction in there.”

Gaylord, a city of about 4,200 people, is about 230 miles (370 kilometers) northwest of Detroit.

More than 40 people were injured. Carroll said at least one person was not accounted for by Saturday morning, though that person didn’t live in the mobile home park.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency, making further state resources available. Electricity was out for thousands of people in the area, and some roads still were clogged with downed poles and other wreckage.

“We have a lot of debris to clear,” Carroll said.

Indeed, roofs and walls at some businesses in the tornado’s path were shredded. Cars and trucks were turned on their sides or completely flipped over. Video posted online showed a dark funnel cloud approaching as anxious drivers looked on or slowly drove away.

The National Weather Service pegged the tornado as EF3, on a scale of 0-5, with maximum winds of 140 mph.

Betty Wisniewski, 87, avoided injury even though the tornado significantly damaged her house, said son Steve Wisniewski, who lives next door.

“Luckily she was OK — rosary in hand,” he said from a ladder while attaching plastic to his windows. “She was praying. Pretty amazing.”

Gaylord Police Chief Frank Claeys said the immediate moments after the tornado were tough for first responders.