A toddler was killed and his mother injured when a tornado hit suburban Detroit without warning, while five people were injured when a tornado in Maryland collapsed structures and trapped people inside. interior.
Authorities in Livonia, Michigan, said the tornado passed through several neighborhoods Wednesday afternoon and grew so quickly that there was no advance warning from the National Weather Service or other organizations that would normally have triggered the warning sirens.
The storm uprooted a massive tree that fell on a family’s home and through the roof, landing on the bed where a woman and her two-year-old child were sleeping, authorities said in a post on the website from the city. Crews worked for nearly an hour to remove the roof and parts of the tree, then lift the tree to get the victims out.
The child was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. The mother was transported to a local hospital in critical condition.
A two-week-old brother and sister, who were in a crib in another room, were not injured but were taken to a hospital for evaluation, Fire Chief Robert Jennison said. in Livonia, on WDIV-TV.
The Detroit Weather Service confirmed on the social platform The agency said the tornado traveled a distance of about ten kilometers, uprooting trees and damaging a few homes.
A weather service representative said it was a rotating storm that did not appear on their radars early enough to issue a warning, according to city officials.
Sinister Spring
It’s been a grim spring for tornadoes in the United States, where severe weather killed at least 24 people over Memorial Day weekend alone. April saw the second highest number of tornadoes on record in the country. These storms come as climate change generally contributes to the severity of storms around the world.
Tornado warnings were issued for parts of several other states overnight Wednesday into Thursday, including Ohio, New Jersey and Delaware. In the Seacoast region of New Hampshire, storms uprooted trees and caused power outages.
In Maryland, emergency responders responded to reports of people trapped inside structures that collapsed after a tornado passed through Wednesday night. In Gaithersburg, there were reports of three collapsed structures with people trapped inside, said Pete Piringer, spokesman for the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Department. The most significant damage was caused when a large tree fell on a house, injuring five people who were taken to hospital, including one suffering traumatic injuries. No serious injuries were reported at other structures.
Local television footage showed large felled trees damaging homes as they fell.
Nine different areas have been hit by tornadoes in Maryland and crews will study them to determine if it is a tornado, according to Kevin Rodriguez, chief meteorologist at the weather service office in Sterling, Virginia. is moved or different tornadoes. The bureau issued 22 tornado warnings Wednesday, the fourth-most warnings in a single day by the bureau which covers much of Maryland, the District of Columbia, northern Virginia and eastern West Virginia’s panhandle region, Rodriguez said.
In Berkeley and Jefferson counties in West Virginia, images of what were likely tornadoes were seen on the ground, Rodriguez said. Based on video, he said it was possible to confirm four tornadoes in Maryland; two in Montgomery County, from Poolesville to Gaithersburg and east to Olney; one in the Arbutus area of Baltimore County; and another near the Carroll County Regional Airport in Westminster. These areas must still be studied over the coming days to determine the strength of the phenomenon.
“For the beginning of June, it is particularly rare to have so many tornadoes,” recalled Mr. Rodriguez. It’s rather prolific for the start of June. »
In Portsmouth, New Hampshire, fires at two homes on opposite ends of town were believed to have been started by lightning strikes that occurred less than 15 minutes apart, according to Fire Chief William McQuillen. Both homes were damaged and one is considered uninhabitable. No injuries were reported.