WLKM Radio 95.9 FM
The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department has provided an update regarding Friday’s suspected tornado in western St. Joseph County.
According to Sheriff Chad Spence, weather conditions Friday afternoon deteriorated by late afternoon and prompting a tornado warning for a portion of Cass and St. Joseph counties, as well as other nearby areas.
By 7 p.m., the city of Three Rivers, as well as Fabius Township and areas northeast and east of Three Rivers, had been impacted by the suspected tornado.
Municipal officials in Three River said several dozen trees around the city were leveled, some falling on houses. Power outages in Three Rivers, St. Joseph County and surrounding areas were reported, with outages expected to last through the night in some areas, officials said.
Elsewhere in Three Rivers, a number of businesses were damaged, as were other structures. A segment on the weather featuring a video of debris whirling in the wind was shown on the national broadcast of CBS Evening News.
Meanwhile, three people died and more than a dozen were injured in the Union City area in Branch County. Its sheriff’s department officials said the area around Union Lake and in Union City were especially hard hit.
Immediate cause of deaths in Branch County was not disclosed.
In Cass County Friday, one person died and many others hurt as a result of the dangerous weather.
Sheriff Clint Roach said the county was under a state of emergency from late afternoon and into the evening Friday. Houses, pole barns and other structures were destroyed or heavily damaged.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Friday evening activated the State Emergency Operations Center.
In addition, Michigan State Police Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division was activated at 6 p.m., and officials said SEOC personnel are monitoring the situation and working with state and local officials as well as private sector partners to ensure any resource needs are met.
