WLKM Radio 95.9 FM
County and local officials Wednesday morning canvassed St. Joseph County’s hardest-hit areas – Mendon, Nottawa, Colon and Leonidas townships – to gauge the degree of damage caused by what has now been confirmed as two tornadoes that touched down late Tuesday afternoon in the northeast quadrant of the county.
St. Joseph County Emergency Management Director Erin Goff said in her four-plus years on the job, this week’s storm was the worst natural disaster she has seen in the county.
She said Centreville, Mendon, Leonidas and Colon were specifically the hardest hit communities in the county. Those locations and surrounding areas sustained extensive property and tree damage.
Students in Colon Community Schools and Centreville Public Schools had the day off Wednesday due to power outages.
Wednesday’s work started early and involved a focus on utility restoration. Then, Goff said, the focus shifted to people whose homes suffered damage and might be in need of a temporary residence.
County Commission Chairman Ken Malone on Tuesday evening declared a local state of emergency and Gov. Whitmer followed suit.
Meanwhile, Colon Township Fire Chief Matt Overholt said about 100 Colon Township houses suffered some level of damage. He said silos were toppled and roofs torn from barns at locations on Brandt Road, near the Colon and Leonidas township line.
