A rare northern Michigan tornado struck a tiny community, killing at least one person and injuring more than 40 others.
At about 3.45 p.m. local time on Friday, a twister struck Gaylord, a community of about 4,200 people about 230 miles (370 kilometers) northwest of Detroit.
Mike Klepadlo, the owner of Alter-Start North, claimed he and his employees took refuge in a restroom.
“I’m fortunate to be alive.” He stated it “blew the rear off the building.”
“The rear wall is missing twenty feet (six meters).” The roof is completely missing. At least half of the structure is still standing. It’s awful.”
Emma Goddard, 15, claimed she received a phone warning while working at the Tropical Smoothie Cafe.
She disregarded the weather outside as “stormy, but not dangerous,” and went back to what she was doing. Her mother immediately called to reassure her that everything was OK.
Miss Goddard told The Associated Press through text message that she was pouring a customer’s smoothie when her coworker’s mother ran in begging for them to get to the rear of the building two minutes later.
They sought refuge in the walk-in freezer, where they could hear the glass break.
She said: “I was crammed shoulder-to-shoulder with my seven co-workers, two of my co-workers’ parents, and a lady from Door Dash coming to pick up her smoothies.”
When they walked outside 15 minutes later, they saw “several of our cars in bits with insulation all over the ground,” according to Miss Goddard.
Three nearby businesses were also damaged, she said.
Otsego Memorial Hospital was treating 23 patients wounded by the tornado, according to Brian Lawson, a spokesperson for Munson Healthcare. He didn’t know the injured individual’s condition or the name of the person who died.
