'A true miracle that she survived': Man rescues 86-year-old mother after Durand tornado

DURAND, Mich. (FOX 2) - While fortunately there were no reported deaths or injuries, dozens of homes have been destroyed or damaged by a tornado in Durand.

In Shiawassee County they saw it coming -- the funnel cloud that formed so fast and a tornado barreling toward them.

"I just pulled in there because I seen the clouds coming in," said Pat Fuja. 

Fuja was in his car when he saw the storm. Next door at his brother's, he knew his 86-year-old mother Shirley was alone in their house on the hill.

"It looked like it formed between there and the house here - and I just watched it all collapse right in front of me," he said. "It was devastating to watch knowing my mother was up here."

The home was destroyed with debris everywhere, but where was Pat's mom, who had been sitting in her recliner in the front room that was now sloping into the basement.

"I heard her yelling something down there so I ran around here and she was sitting down there. Her leg was stuck a little bit, but we got her up on the couch here and we got her right on," he said. "She was fine."

Her dog Boomer was rescued Friday -- gratitude in the midst of devastation.

The National Weather Service confirmed two tornadoes touched down in Shiawasee County, finding EF-2 damage with winds up to 125 miles per hour.

"This is probably one of the worst we've seen today - it's a true miracle that she survived," said Shiawassee County Sheriff Brian Begole.

The sheriff and elected officials toured impacted areas where at least 60 homes were damaged and 12 were destroyed, with power lines down across the area. Power was restored to 5,000 customers with another thousand to go. Many people are displaced, like Shirley, who is staying with loved ones while they clean up what they can.

"Every house down the street, neighbors helping neighbors, cleaning up the community and coming together and really supporting one another," said State Sen. Tom Barrett.

"We're resilient people in Shiawassee County, so we've already seen neighbors helping neighbors. I really commend the coordination of emergency services. We're going to get through this," said State Rep. Ben Frederick.