Latest strong storm round leave trail of damage in Metro Detroit
BERKLEY, Mich. (FOX 2) - The cleanup is underway after Thursday's strong round of storms, which has left 27,000 in the dark without power.
Some of the damage that was caused, may take homeowners weeks or months to recover from. Among the communities that were hit hard include Berkley, Beverly Hills, Lathrup Village and Southfield.
"I started screaming into the phone to my mom ‘My roof is collapsed. my roof has collapsed,’" said Marcie Swan.
Storms Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon caused widespread floods and damage in and around the Southfield area.
Swan's house in Berkley was not spared.
"I had been sitting on my couch and I was on the phone with my mom and something just said to myself ‘Oh I need to go fold laundry in my bedroom,’" she said. "So I got up and went down the hall. and not even five minutes later there was a huge crash."
When she returned to the living room she saw the tree inside her home - and the aftermath, too heart-wrenching to bare.
"The roof is going to need to be replaced. the ceiling in the living room, definitely replaced. at this point I believe the floor is going to need to be replaced," she said.
Swan’s home was far from the only one hit.
"It’s just pure destruction of our backyard," said April Maycock. "There’s power lines everywhere, the internet is down of course, power."
Maycock in Beverly Hills felt the punch of the hard-hitting storms. The strong winds pushed this large tree onto her garage.
She says she couldn’t believe the sight. Her car was trapped inside.
"We are tired because we were up pretty much 24 hours, trying to get the generator hooked up, trying to get the house straight, assess the damage, take all the pictures, working with our neighbors to figure it out," she said. "We're tired, hungry and hot."
Some neighbors in Beverly Hills couldn’t even leave their homes.
"I’m just sitting down watching DTE do their thing," said Ron Zuhorski. "There’s nothing else for me to do. I’m out of power. My power lines ripped off. So I’m just enjoying the day. I’m making the best of it."
DTE Energy was out and about working on several power lines, like at Catalpa near Greenfield.
Meanwhile a Marathon gas station was packed with drivers fueling up and getting supplies.
"It’s been a little wild," said Kevin Sharrak, who works at Marathon. "People have been rushing up here to get ice and fuel for their generators." (
In fact, as soon as Sharrak heard that they lost power, he rushed to the gas station to turn on their generator.
He says he did it with the customers in mind, wanting to give them some relief during this difficult time.
"It’s nice to be able to provide that additional blessing to the people who need it the most at this time," he said.
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If there is an emergency, such as a fire or you see a power line on an unoccupied car, first call 911 then call the power company. DTE Energy can be reached at 800-477-4747. Consumers Energy can be reached at 800-477-5050.
For non-emergency situations, you can report the wire to DTE online here.
