CANTON TOWNSHIP, Mich.  —Severe storms, driven by powerful winds, wreaked havoc in Michigan, resulting in at least seven tornadoes touching down. Tragically, these storms claimed the lives of five individuals, caused extensive damage, including uprooting trees and stripping roofs from buildings, and left hundreds of thousands of residents without electricity.

The National Weather Service reported that one of the tornadoes, classified as an EF-2 with winds reaching 125 mph, struck Lansing, Michigan's state capital, on Thursday night.

This tornado caused one fatality and left three others injured. Lansing Police Department spokesperson Jordan Gulkis shared that an 84-year-old woman lost her life when a tree collapsed onto her home. Despite firefighters' efforts to rescue her, she was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Furthermore, the weather service confirmed the presence of an EF-1 tornado with winds of 90 mph, which crossed from Ingham County into the western part of Livingston County during the same storm event on Thursday night.

Four other EF-1 tornadoes were reported in Wayne County, striking areas such as Belleville, Gibraltar, South Rockwood, and near Newport in Monroe County. There was also a less severe EF-0 tornado with peak winds of 80 mph in Canton Township, Wayne County, west of Detroit. This EF-0 tornado caused damage when a tree fell onto a house, according to meteorologist Sara Schultz.

The weather service's Grand Rapids office announced plans to conduct damage surveys on a suspected tornado in Kent County.

These intense storms featured striking lightning displays illuminating the night sky and brought substantial rainfall to communities across the southern part of Michigan.

Meanwhile, in western Michigan, a tragic accident occurred in Kent County as a 21-year-old woman and two young girls, aged 1 and 3, lost their lives in a head-on collision between two vehicles during rainy conditions. Sgt. Eric Brunner from the Kent County sheriff’s office explained that one of the vehicles hydroplaned on wet roads, leading to the fatal crash. A 22-year-old man from Gowen, who was driving the vehicle with the woman and two girls, sustained serious injuries. The driver of the other vehicle suffered minor injuries.

Additionally, in Ingham County, where Lansing is situated, the sheriff’s office confirmed one fatality and several severe injuries as over 25 vehicles were heavily damaged along Interstate 96 due to the storm's impact.

Canton Township, a community with a population of around 100,000 people, had experienced flooding in its downtown business district earlier in the week. Township supervisor Anne Marie Graham-Hudak reported significant damage to some of their parks and revealed that they had received 200 calls from residents reporting basement flooding.

Miller observed that these storms had become increasingly common, almost resembling tropical storms. She emphasized the need for both government and residents to make adequate preparations whenever such events were anticipated.

In Macomb County, located northeast of Detroit, a substantial number of basements in Eastpointe and St. Clair Shores were fortunate enough to avoid flooding. This was achieved through an emergency bypass system that directed stormwater and wastewater into Lake St. Clair. Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller explained that this bypass system, which had been used only three times since 2017, was utilized twice this week.

Wayne County Executive Warren Evans declared a state of emergency in Michigan's largest county, including Detroit, on Friday. This declaration was made due to a combination of power outages, flooding, fallen trees, downed power lines, and storm debris. The county also issued a warning to residents, advising them to steer clear of several rivers due to the discharge of partially or fully untreated wastewater resulting from the flooding.

Berry expressed his frustration, stating that he couldn't leave his driveway due to the obstruction and the power outage.

In the northern Detroit suburb of Southfield, Muqitu Berry described an incident that occurred around 9:30 p.m. on Thursday. He was at his ranch home when a substantial portion of his neighbor's tree trunk came crashing down, resembling the sound of a train. The fallen tree blocked Berry's driveway and yard, bringing down power lines in the process. These power lines landed on his driveway and at least one vehicle, resulting in a power outage for Berry and his neighbors.

On Friday afternoon, it remained unclear whether the wrecks on the freeway were caused by the storm or a traffic accident.

As of 7:15 p.m. on Friday, Poweroutage.us reported that more than 390,000 customers in Michigan and over 120,000 in Ohio were experiencing power outages.

The storms on Thursday night followed heavy rainfall on Wednesday, which left parts of southeast Michigan with over 5 inches of rain by Thursday morning. This led to street flooding in the Detroit area, including tunnels leading to Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency for Wayne and Monroe counties on Friday. This declaration allows for the allocation of state resources to aid in response and recovery efforts related to storm damage.

The storms moved eastward across Lake Erie into northeast Ohio, causing trees to be uprooted and leaving thousands of homes and businesses without electricity.

Late Thursday night, a tornado swept through a portion of Cleveland, leaving a path about 150 yards wide and nearly a mile long. Fortunately, there were no reported injuries, but several buildings, including the 143-year-old New Life at Calvary Church, suffered severe damage. The church urged its members to stay away from the building during the rebuilding process.

In recent weeks, parts of the western United States have experienced heavy rainfall from Tropical Storm Hilary, while much of the central U.S. has been dealing with dangerous heatwaves. Additionally, Hawaii and Washington have been battling devastating wildfires.

While scientists cannot directly attribute a single weather event to climate change without extensive study, they assert that climate change is responsible for more frequent and intense extreme events like storms, droughts, floods, and wildfires. The primary driver of climate change is human activities that release greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere, according to the consensus among peer-reviewed studies, scientific organizations, and climate scientists.