WE WANT TO KEEP YOU POSTED ON WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE. YOU'RE SEEING LIVE PICTURES OUT OF PORTAGE RIGHT NOW. GOVERNOR GRETCHEN WHITMER HERE, WHO IS ON THE GROUND AGAIN? THE TORNADO THAT CAME THROUGH LAST NIGHT CAUSING HEAVY DAMAGE. OVER 170 HOMES, DAMAGED, AS WELL AS THAT FEDEX FACILITY. 50 PEOPLE WERE TRAPPED IN THERE, THE STATE OF EMERGENCY HAS BEEN DECLARED IN THAT AREA AGAIN ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE STATE NEAR KALAMAZOO. SO THE GOVERNOR HAS JUST ARRIVED. WE WANT TO STAY WITH THIS HERE IN CASE THAT SHE MAKES SOME COMMENTS, AGAIN, THIS STORM THAT RIPPED THROUGH LAST NIGHT, COMING AT NIGHT AND THE WARNINGS AND A LOT OF PEOPLE TAKING COVER, AND THIS STORM REALLY COMING THROUGH AND CAUSING SERIOUS DAMAGE. YOU SAW ROD MELONI AT THE TOP OF THE SHOW, SHOWING THAT INTERSECTION AT ROMANCE ROAD AND LOVER'S LANE. THAT WAS RIGHT BY A MOBILE HOME, COMMUNITY THAT WAS REALLY TORN UP. WE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO GET INSIDE THERE RIGHT NOW, BUT WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE TWO AREAS IN PORTAGE THAT ARE TAKING IN PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN DISPLACED AT A CHURCH AND ANOTHER FACILITY AND BEING ABLE TO HELP PEOPLE OUT WHO WHO ARE GOING TO NEED SHELTER. SINCE THIS STORM CAME THROUGH, WE HAD BEEN TALKING ABOUT THE STORM SYSTEM THAT HAD BEEN MAKING ITS WAY THROUGH THE MIDWEST AND STARTING ON MONDAY AFTERNOON, THEN INTO TUESDAY, AS THINGS WERE DEVELOPING AND THEN MOVING ACROSS THE STATE, IT HIT US LAST NIGHT IN SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN, LATER IN THE EVENING, AS I KNOW A LOT OF US HAD THUNDER AND LIGHTNING AND HEAVY, HEAVY DOWNPOURS AND EVEN SOME WINDS OUT THERE IN MACOMB COUNTY, WE TALKED EARLIER ABOUT SOME DAMAGE DONE TO BOATS AND WHATNOT, THINGS THAT WERE NOT SECURELY, SECURELY DOWN BECAUSE OF THE WEATHER, BUT IT WAS REALLY MORE OF THE WEST SIDE OF THE STATE THAT THAT FELT THE BRUNT OF ONE CONFIRMED TORNADO. AND AGAIN, YOU HAVE PEOPLE FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ON THE GROUND RIGHT NOW DETERMINING THE PATH THAT WAY. TAKING A LOOK AT THE PATTERN OF THE DAMAGE, THAT IS USUALLY HOW THEY'RE ABLE TO DETERMINE HOW MANY TORNADOES. IF THERE WERE MULTIPLE TORNADOES THAT HIT IN THAT AREA. RIGHT NOW, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT DECLARING A STATE OF EMERGENCY, WE, YOU KNOW, AT THE STATE LEVEL AN AT THE LOCAL LEVEL, THAT IS TO MAKE SURE THAT FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE RAPIDLY FOR PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO DO CLEANUP AND FOR REPAIRS. AND ALSO, WHEN YOU START TALKING ABOUT INSURANCE, AND SO YOU SEE THE GOVERNOR SPEAKING RIGHT THERE, WE'RE HOPING TO GET SOME AUDIO, ON THIS. SO WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE A NUMBER OF A NUMBER OF TELEVISION CAMERAS THAT ARE THERE. BUT USUALLY WHEN YOU DO HAVE THE GOVERNOR COMING INTO A DISASTER AREA LIKE THIS, YOU KNOW, SHE'LL TALK TO THE LEADERS ON THE GROUND, WHETHER THAT IS, YOU KNOW, THE MAYOR OF THE TOWN OR, YOU KNOW, COUNTY GOVERNMENT, TALKING ABOUT WHAT THEY'RE DEALING WITH NOW. AND SOME OF THE FIRST RESPONDERS WHO ARE ABLE TO HELP PEOPLE OUT AND THEN SEE, AS YOU SEE RIGHT THERE AND THEN BEING ABLE TO TALK TO SOME OF THE PEOPLE WHO WERE WHO WERE IMPACTED. AND AGAIN, THERE WERE SEVERAL PEOPLE THAT WERE INJURED LAST NIGHT, FROM THE TORNADO THAT CAME THROUGH. BUT NO ONE WAS KILLED. AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING ALSO REALLY IMPORTANT TO POINT OUT THAT WHEN YOU HAVE STORMS LIKE THIS THAT COME ESPECIALLY AT NIGHT, AND TT TAKES AWAY OUR ABILITY, YOU KNOW, WE HEAR WARNINGS OR WE'RE FOLLOWING, A LOT OF THE, YOU KNOW, THE WEATHER STATEMENTS. SOMETIMES WHEN YOU CAN VISUALLY SEE SOMETHING, IT'S EASIER TO DETERMINE WHAT'S GOING ON. BUT WHEN SOMETHING COMES AT NIGHT, YOU REALLY HAVE TO GO ON THE ALERTS THAT YOU'RE HEARING AND TO SEEK COVER. ROD MELONI, TELLING THE STORY OF A MAN WHO STAYED IN HIS BED, DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO, AND HIS HOME RIPPED OFF FROM AROUND HIM, LET'S GO AHEAD AND SEE IF WE GET SOME AUDIO ON THIS FOR THE SALVATION ARMY. >> UNITED WAY HAS OFFERED HELP AS WELL AS THE AMERICAN RED CROSS. >> AND SO AGAIN, WE ARE VERY FORTUNATE. I'M LOOKING AROUND THE CROWD HERE, AND I'M SEEING PEOPLE THAT WERE WALKING AROUND HANDING OUT WATER TO THEIR NEIGHBORS LAST NIGHT, THEY'VE BEEN A STRONG PART OF THIS. YOU'VE GOT THESE ORGANIZATIONS ALL THE TIME, BUT THESE ORGANIZATIONS ARE ONLY AS STRONG AS OUR COMMUNITY ALLOWS US TO BE. >> AND THIS IS A STRONG COMMUNITY. >> SO I KNOW THAT, STATE POLICE AND MDOT AND EGLE, YOU KNOW, LOTS OF DIFFERENT STATE DEPARTMENTS THAT WILL, YOU KNOW, BE READY TO HELP WHEN YOU WHEN YOU FIND A NEED. >> SO WE'LL PROBABLY DO THAT. THE LOCAL EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER. WOULD YOU LIKE TO. YEAH OKAY. WELL THAT'S GREAT. THAT'S GREAT. SHE'S PART OF THE FEEDING EVERYONE. I MEAN, YOU YOU'RE PERFORMING A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF THIS OPERATION. THANK YOU. I KNOW. ARE YOU. DO YOU HAVE. >> ALL RIGHT. SO YOU'VE BEEN WATCHING THOSE LIVE VIDEO THAT WE'RE GETTING FROM WOOD TV OVER ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE STATE OF GOVERNOR GRETCHEN WHITMER IN PORTAGE AFTER THE TORNADO HIT THERE LAST NIGHT. AGAIN A MEETING WITH SOME OF THE FIRST RESPONDERS, MICHIGAN STATE POLICE, LOCAL POLICE, YOU KNOW, TALKING ABOUT SOME OF THE TRAFFIC AND THE POWER LINES THAT ARE DOWN AND BEING ABLE TO GET SOME OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE BACK UP AND RUNNING SO PEOPLE CAN START THE CLEANUP AGAIN, PROBABLY OVER 170 HOMES IS WHAT THEY'RE GETTING. THE REPORT OF THAT WERE DAMAGED DURING THIS TORNADO LAST NIGHT. WE'RE GOING TO BE HEARING MORE FROM HER AND THE STATE OF EMERGENCY DECLARED
