Kalamazoo officials declare local state of emergency to mobilize additional resources after tornado
Kalamazoo County declared a local state of emergency Saturday after a series of severe thunderstorms swept through the area Thursday evening, causing widespread outages and damage, local officials say.
The hardest hit areas of the storm remain in southwest Michigan, more specifically Galesburg, where a EF-0 tornado touched down, the news release and reporting from the Free Press show.
Currently 35,688 Michigan energy customers remain without power as of 4:55 a.m. Sunday, May 18, according to an outage map by PowerOutage.us.
'This has been an incredibly difficult time for our residents. Just over a year ago, we were dealing with the aftermath of the May 7, 2024, tornado, and now another storm has caused widespread damage,' said Jen Strebs, chair of the Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners, in the news release. 'Our team is working alongside our partners to ensure that help is available where it's needed most. We will continue doing everything we can to support our residents as they recover.'
The declaration by county officials enables the county to mobilize additional resources when needed.
More than 244,000 customers initially lost power across the region.
Officials say Consumers Energy crews are still working to restore power, remove lines and address large customer clusters.
According to county officials, the American Red Cross will distribute 50 cases of water and clean-up kits Monday, May 19, at the Kalamazoo Community Church, 2435 N 26th St., just north of Comstock High School, beginning at 11:00 a.m.
They are also encouraging residents to:
Leave refrigerators closed as long as possible to prevent cold air from escaping during short outages.
After a power outage, throw out perishable foods that were in your refrigerator after 4 hours, in a half-full freezer for 24 hours, or a full freezer for 48 hours.
Never taste food to determine its safety after a power outage.
'When in doubt, throw it out.'
Only use generators outdoors, more than 20 feet away from your home, doors, and windows.
Residents are also urged to express caution around downed power lines and maintain a safe distance from them.
Hazardous conditions can be reported by calling 911 or Consumers Energy at 800-477-5050.
Jalen Williams is a trending reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at jawilliams1@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Kalamazoo officials declare a local state of emergency to help residents
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