Bemidji sustains "extensive" storm damage; tornado kills 3 in North Dakota, officials say
100+ mph wind gusts in Bemidji area, officials say
The National Weather Service in Grand Forks reported wind gusts of up to 106 mph at Bemidji Regional Airport early Saturday. An emergency manager there reported extensive damage from falling trees and cars with people trapped inside.
Beltrami County Emergency Management said the damage to the Bemidji area is "extensive" and that scores of power lines were down.
"Please do not travel unless it is an emergency. Many roads are blocked and there are a ton of power lines down. Unfortunately there is significant structure damage as well. We are responding to many gas leaks," the agency said in a Facebook post early Saturday.
As of Saturday at 10:30 a.m., nearly 30,000 customers in northern Minnesota are still without power, according to poweroutage.us.
Tornado kills three in North Dakota town
Cass County Sheriff Jesse Jahner said at a press conference Saturday that two men and a woman were killed at two separate locations in the town of Enderlin, North Dakota, late Friday.
Enderlin is about 57 miles southwest of Fargo.
About 22,000 customers are also without power in North Dakota as of Saturday morning.
This story will be updated.
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