Residents assess damage, begin cleanup after deadly Michigan tornadoes

Among the rubble and tornado-battered houses along Tuttle Road in Union City on Sunday, March 8, a pole waving a large American flag stood strong.

Freeman “Chip” Riddle returned to Union City from vacation on Sunday to a severely damaged house, a demolished barn and some of his belongings strewn across the field around his home. But the large American flag he’s displayed since 2010 was still flying.

“It tore it pretty good,” Riddle said. “I’m going to put a new one up, but not until we get done here. It’s kind of making a statement that we survived … it looks like a battle flag.”

Riddle, 64, was one of many Tuttle Road residents who came home Sunday for the first time since tornadoes tore across three southern Michigan counties on Friday, killing four people and injuring at least a dozen others. The road, which winds on the north side of Union Lake, was closed to traffic on Saturday as search and rescue efforts continued in the area. Some residents fled before the storm, others said they stayed with family while the power was out and some sought temporary shelter in the aftermath of the storm.

Three people died in the Branch County tornadoes. Two have been publicly identified so far: Penni Jo Guthrie and Keri Ann Johnson. Silas Anderson, a 12-year-old boy, died in a tornado in Cass County.

Search operations have stopped as everyone is accounted for, Branch County Sheriff Fred Blankenship told the Free Press on the hard-hit side of Tuttle Road on Sunday afternoon. He said he appreciates the community’s willingness to help their neighbors but urged people to stay away from the area.

Homeowners, friends, families and community members continued clean up in Union City Sunday. A Union City school bus dropped off materials to Tuttle Road. The community held a prayer vigil in town on Sunday evening.

‘We’re pretty lucky’

Riddle and his wife were on vacation in Florida when they got a call from a friend telling him their house was hit by a tornado. His granddaughter stopped by the house to let out the dog, not knowing until her phone got a notification minutes before that a tornado would come through.

After the tornado, the 16-year-old got out of the house and into her basketball uniform for Athen’s district game against Concord, Riddle said. Riddle said his dog is OK, too, though it will be challenging to find the dog a place to stay while he and his wife temporarily live at a hotel in Coldwater, he said.

Riddle says his wife, who is a nurse practitioner, is returning to work Monday. He was able to get time off.

Riddle has a collection of rare John Deer bikes and Coleman lanterns, which include the dates they were made on the bottom, that used to hang in the rafters of his barn. On Sunday afternoon, many of them were in a pile after being found strewn across the field next to his house. He also lost family photos and a 1960s sign from the John Deere dealership he used to run.

“I’m going to sort out a whole bunch of stuff I just realized I don’t need,” he said. “I’m going to make life a whole lot simpler.”

On a normal Friday, Riddle said, he would have been working in the office space in his house that the tornado tore apart. With parts of the roof off, standing water fills some of the rooms, including the kitchen, Riddle said.

Riddle said he has a generator and pointed to the different pieces where it would hook up to if they weren’t scattered across his back yard.

“I always kept tarps and flashlights and lanterns and yeah I have a generator and I had all that [equipment.] The problem was, there was nothing left to hook the generator to. The power poles, I mean everything was gone. So you’ve got to have a plan, but I guess have a plan for the plan.”

They rented a portable potty to use as they repair the house, as there is no running water or electricity. He thought about cooking on the grill for the people helping him clean up, but the grill is gone.

He has insurance, Riddle said, though he’s not yet sure how much it will cover.

He said he was lucky to have machines in what used to be a barn to help with clean up, though to get to the tractor, he and his crew of loved ones had to move debris from the barn by hand.

“We’re pretty lucky,” Riddle said. “I had equipment here that other people don’t even have access to and then I had friends that know how to run chainsaws. We’re pretty self-sufficient. There’s a lot of people who need a lot of help that don’t have anything.”

Riddle said tornado sirens can’t be heard from his house and his granddaughter only knew to go in the basement because of a storm chaser app on her phone. Riddle encouraged everyone to have an application on their phones that announces when a tornado could be nearby.

An large American flag flies over Freeman “Chip” Riddle’s house on Tuttle Street in Union City on March 8 after it was hit by a tornado on March 6. (USA Today Network)

State of Emergency

On Saturday, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency for Branch, Cass, and St. Joseph counties. She reiterated her declaration of a state of emergency in a post on Sunday and assessed damage during an aerial tour of the area in a Michigan State Police helicopter.

Whitmer said her state of emergency declaration will ensure that every state resource is available to assist in recovery efforts from the devastating tornadoes.

“Our entire state is wrapping its arms around Three Rivers, Union City, Edwardsburg, and everywhere in between,” the governor said in a statement. “Our hearts are with the families who lost loved ones and the Michiganders who were injured. … We will get through this together.”

Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II said the state has “been closely coordinating with local and state partners to assess damage and support communities impacted by the severe weather across southwest Michigan.”

“I’m grateful to the first responders, emergency managers, and public works crews working through the night to keep Michiganders safe,” Gilchrist said. “Thank you for your dedication and swift action during this challenging weather.”

Whitmer has authorized the use of all available state resources to assist local response and recovery operations in the affected counties by declaring the state of emergency, according to the statement. The MSP Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division is coordinating the state’s emergency response through the State Emergency Operations Center.

A fallen tree rests again a sheriff’s vehicle outside a hospital in Three Rivers after tornadoes rolled across southern Michigan on Friday, March 6. (USA Today Network)

Storm damage in Three Rivers

In St. Joseph County, crews worked on power lines and businesses buildings along U.S. 131 in Three Rivers on a windy Sunday morning. Some businesses sustained severe damage from the storm and were closed, while others were open to customers.

A Menards store off of U.S. 131 had its front sign blown off and partially demolished. The Home Depot on the other side of U.S. 131 was open for customers, as was the Meijer less than a half mile away.

Businesses along 131, including OMNI Credit Union and the Super 8 Motel, lost parts of their roofs, signs or buildings. Some businesses covered holes in their roofs with tarps. Debris could be seen in the parking lots and even on some pedestrian walkways along U.S. 131. A Jimmy John’s restaurant along U.S. 131 didn’t appear to sustain damage, but was closed with a sign on the door explaining the power was out.

Three Rivers Community Schools announced schools will be closed Monday “due to significant storm damage in and around our community, including some of our district facilities,”

“Our instructional buildings are safe, but we continue to assess and clean up throughout the district.” the school district said on its website.

On the Three Rivers Community Schools Facebook page, Superintendent Nikki Nash detailed what she said occurred on Friday night as the storms struck during afternoon school dismissal.

“Our drivers and staff acted immediately to divert students to the nearest school buildings to take shelter,” Nash said in a news release. “I want to thank our students for their bravery, our staff for their quick thinking, and you — our families — for your patience and cooperation as we worked to ensure every child was out of harm’s way.

Nash said it was inspiring to see the community helping clear debris to help those in need. She said none of the classrooms were severely damaged.

“However, the administration building, maintenance, and storage area took some hits, but nothing compared to our new transportation building, which lost the garage roof with several damaged vehicles, including buses, in the parking lot,” Nash said. “Despite the work ahead, our maintenance teams and staff are working tirelessly to ensure our schools remain a safe place for our school community.”

Beacon Three Rivers Health reported damage to its hospital and several facilities. The hospital and emergency department have remained open. Three Rivers Health cared for several patients who sustained minor injuries from the storms, according to a statement from Beacon Health System.

Home during the storm

Sandy Pensari, 76, lives on the Union City road facing some of the worst storm damage. She was home with her dog when the tornado passed through. She said she got a notice on her phone at 4:20 p.m. and went to the basement. After about 10 minutes, she looked out her window and saw a “pinky-yellowy sky.”

Thinking it was a false alarm, she almost went back upstairs but stopped herself because she was told to stay until 5 p.m., she said.

“Sure enough, the minute I went back down, all of a sudden the hail came, the rain came, and I heard boom, boom. And I think it was those trees,” Pensari said referring to trees that fell in her neighbor’s yard. “I heard the transformer out in the back of the house because that’s where the tree came down to, back there, and took out the electricity at that point. And so I heard that. And then it was done.”

Pensari said she is fortunate and thankful her house has no damage. She asked for thoughts and prayers for her neighbors who lost their homes.

After the storm, Pensari said she could not leave her house, as the road was blocked by trees. She said the guys in her neighborhood have enthusiastically helped cut fallen trees and clear them from the roads and people’s houses.

“Boys with toys here. All the guys love their chainsaws,” she said. “The minute the storm was done within a half an hour the whole block was full of guys with chainsaws.”

Amy Huschka of the Free Press and Liz Shepard of the USA Today network contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Residents assess damage, begin cleanup after deadly Michigan tornadoes

Reporting by Natalie Davies, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press

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