AP: Power restored after Gaylord’s deadly tornado

GAYLORD, Mich. (AP) – Nearly all of the power lost following a deadly tornado that killed two people and flattened parts of a northern Michigan community has been restored. The state police said Sunday that everyone has been accounted for in Gaylord where Friday afternoon’s tornado also injured more than 40 people. Authorities said Saturday that they were unable to account for one person.

The two people killed were in their 70s and lived at a mobile home park in Gaylord that was among the first sites hit by the tornado, which was rated an EF3 by the National Weather Service on a scale of 0-5. The tornado packed winds of 140 mph that tore roofs and walls from businesses and practically destroyed the mobile home park in the town. The Otsego County fire chief says there’s “probably 95% destruction” at the park, with mobile homes “picked up and turned over.”

Experts say extreme spring winds are uncommon in the area because the Great Lakes typically suck energy out of storms. State police said Sunday that electricity has been restored to 99% of utility customers in Gaylord.