A tornado touched down in Livonia Wednesday afternoon, damaging buildings and uprooting large trees, including one that killed a 2-year-old boy and critically injured his mother when it fell on their home, authorities said.
"Every available Livonia firefighter was dispatched to the scene," the city said in a statement. "Crews worked tirelessly for nearly an hour to remove the roof, parts of the tree, and then lift the tree with high-pressure air bags to extricate the victims."
Ultimately, "the child succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. The mother was transported to Livonia Trinity Hospital in critical condition," the city said.
The tornado developed as part of a larger storm system that passed through Michigan Wednesday. The city said the tornado appeared quickly and there wasn't time to issue a warning.
The National Weather Service's weather forecast office for Detroit wrote on Facebook earlier in the day that tornadoes were "not expected" as part of the storm.
The tornado measured about a quarter-mile across at its widest point and traveled about 5.5 miles through Livonia, with peak winds estimated at 95 miles an hour, according to the weather service. It touched down near the intersection of Schoolcraft Road and Eckles Road and it lifted near 7 Mile Road and Middlebelt Road.
The city said the Kirksey Recreation Center is open "as a temporary shelter for anyone who needs access to air conditioning, electricity to charge their phones, or water to take a shower."
DTE Energy reported about 17,000 customers without power in the Detroit metro area Wednesday night. The utility said it expected to restore power to about 95% of those customers by the end of the day on Thursday.
