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DTE provides Saturday update on power restoration progress after storms, tornadoes sweep Metro Detroit
Brian Calka, senior vice president of distribution operations at DTE Energy, provided an update Saturday morning, saying 80% of the more than 388,000 affected customers had their power restored.
DETROIT (FOX 2) - More than 90,000 customers remain without power across Metro Detroit this holiday weekend after tornadoes and severe storms swept through the region earlier this week.
By the numbers:
Brian Calka, senior vice president of distribution operations at DTE Energy, provided an update Saturday morning, saying 80% of the more than 388,000 affected customers had their power restored.
More than 4,000 crews continue to work to restore power, with DTE aiming to have 90% of affected customers restored by the end of Saturday.
Calka said DTE expects the remaining customers to have power restored by the end of Sunday.
Crews were working on power restoration in Detroit's Islandview neighborhood Saturday, where a tornado was confirmed to have touched down — the first tornado in the city in nearly three decades. (FOX 2)
Local perspective:
Crews were working on power restoration in Detroit's Islandview neighborhood Saturday, where a tornado was confirmed to have touched down — the first tornado in the city in nearly three decades.
The tornado began near Mt. Elliott and East Vernor before moving southeast toward Belle Isle.
The National Weather Service announced late Friday that the tornado was rated an EF-2, with estimated wind speeds of 115 mph. The tornado traveled 3.5 miles, touching down at 4:14 p.m. Thursday and lifting at 4:18 p.m.
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Looking back on the 1997 Detroit tornado
The tornado that hit the east side of Detroit on Thursday was the first to hit the city in nearly 30 years. FOX 2 looks back at the 1997 tornado as well as other outbreaks in the state.
The severe weather damaged buildings and roads, flattening structures along a path that began on Detroit's east side.
Damage was reported near Concord and St. Paul streets, with additional building collapses reported along Lafayette, Jefferson and Concord streets.
Detroit EF-2 tornado touched down on city's east side, NWS says
A tornado touched down in Detroit on the city's east side during the bad weather blitz on Thursday, the National Weather Service has confirmed.
Dig deeper:
Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield declared a local state of emergency Friday and signed an executive order formalizing the declaration.
The declaration gives the mayor authority to mobilize local resources to help with cleanup and support residents affected by the storm. It also allows the city to coordinate with state and federal officials on potential additional resources.
According to Sheffield, the affected area stretches from Sylvester Street to the north, East Jefferson Avenue to the south, Chene Street to the west and McClellan Street to the east. Belle Isle, which sustained significant damage, is also included.
Detroit Mayor declares State of Emergency after tornado hits city's east side
Mayor Sheffield announced on Friday that she has signed an Executive Order declaring a Local State of Emergency. This comes after Detroit had its first tornado in nearly three decades, primarily hitting the city's Eastside, collapsing structures and uprooting trees.
What you can do:
If you are still without power, report it here.
To check the latest outage status in your neighborhood, click here.
The Source: Information for this report is from DTE, the city of Detroit, Mayor Mary Sheffield and previous reporting.