Two tornadoes blitzed Portage in southwestern Michigan on Tuesday, severely damaging homes and commercial buildings, including a FedEx facility.
The Tornadoes on Tuesday evening ripped the roof off a FedEx building in Portage, partially collapsing the structure and trapping 50 people inside, Kalamazoo county authorities said.
Elsewhere in the state, thousands of residents are without power and face a deluge of hail and tornado warnings amid severe thunderstorms.
First responders are trying to get people out but are impeded by downed power lines, said Kalamazoo emergency management.
FedEx said the company is monitoring the situation and issued a statement expressing concern. “Our thoughts are with those affected by the tornado in Portage, Michigan and we are grateful there were no serious injuries resulting from the damage to our facility at 6701 Portage Road.
We continue to assess the damage, and we are implementing contingency plans to lessen any potential impacts on service. Customers with questions about their shipments can check fedex.com for updates,” Shannon Davis with FedEx media relations said.
More than 32,600 people are without electricity, according to the PowerOutages.US website. Thousands more are under weather warnings.
The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued its first tornado emergency for Michigan, the highest alert level.
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