Dexter tornado update: Officials say more than 200 homes damaged, 20 destroyed
A message found on the side of a home in the Huron Farms subdivision.
Lisa Allmendinger | AnnArbor.com
As officials continue to assess the damage from the Dexter tornado, they've found it was worse than they originally thought.
More than 200 homes were damaged and at least 20 were destroyed when the tornado ripped through the community Thursday evening, officials said Monday.
Dexter Area Fire Chief Loren Yates said firefighters have searched about 400 homes and found damage to more 200 of them, but as further assessment continues, those numbers could change, Yates said.
No deaths and no injuries have been reported as a result of the powerful storm, which hit Dexter and Dexter Township, although one man was pulled out from under a collapsed area in his home by a Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office deputy.
Workers make repairs on top of the Dexter Cider Mill Monday afternoon.
Lisa Allmendinger | AnnArbor.com
Cleanup and restoration efforts were under way in the hardest hit areas — the Huron Farms subdivision along Dexter Ann Arbor Road in Dexter and the area along Dexter-Pinckney Road in Dexter Township, including the Carriage Hills subdivision. Marked progress was made over the weekend as hundreds of friends, family and volunteers lent their efforts to clear debris from the storm-torn area.
Checkpoints are still in place in Huron Farms and along Dexter-Pinckney Road manned by Michigan State Police and Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office deputies.
Lisa Allmendinger is a regional reporter for AnnArbor.com. She can be reached at lisaallmendinger@annarbor.com. For more Dexter stories, visit our Dexter page.
Comments
Ann English
Tue, Mar 20, 2012 : 12:46 a.m.
The best video of the tornado forming was the one that had St. Joseph's Parish practically silhouetted. No narration, but you could see how the funnel went up and down, thinned and thickened before finally reaching the ground and staying there. I trust that the church is all right; it's on Mast Road, not Dexter-Pinckney Road, which the tornado followed.
Rugeirn Drienborough
Mon, Mar 19, 2012 : 9:26 p.m.
An updated map would be an excellent contribution to public knowledge.