Detroit is assessing widespread storm damage — including what could be the first tornado to hit the city since 1997.
The storm knocked out stoplights at roughly 100 intersections across the city, brought trees crashing into multiple homes and left one man injured — the only known injury citywide. Some of the worst damage is concentrated in an area on the east side near Vernor and Mt. Elliot, where buildings and walls appear to have completely collapsed, and siding was ripped off structures as debris scattered the street.
"You wouldn't believe that something like this would happen in Detroit," Alma Anderson, a Detroit resident, said.
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"So many properties are just, the roofs torn down, they've fallen down, the lines down there on Benson are completely bent, and it's just horrendous," Anderson said.
Asiya El works at Driven by Growth, an after-school program for youth in Detroit. She was inside their building keeping kids calm as the storm moved through.
"Lightning, rain and then rumbling under the floor. We could feel the energy outside, inside," El said.
"It was crazy, it was scary," El said.
Their building was untouched, but the damage was directly across the street.
"I felt very blessed we missed it, I really felt blessed," El said.
Mayor Mary Sheffield joined a number of department heads to survey the damage.
"A tornado actually possibly touching down in Detroit? I've never seen," Sheffield said.
"We have every department working on this, from our GSD to DPW to homeland security," Sheffield said.
The National Weather Service said it noted circulation in the area and will survey for a potential tornado. Investigators will also examine areas in Hamtramck and Belle Isle. If confirmed, it would be the first tornado to hit the city of Detroit since 1997.
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