LOCKE TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A couple spending their first night in a new house were among at least five people killed as unusually severe October storms destroyed homes, downed trees and knocked out power in several states, authorities said Friday.
The thunderstorms, some spawning tornadoes and high winds, sent a mobile home in Missouri flying, killing another couple, destroyed homes in Michigan and Indiana and collapsed a trailer in Kentucky as they struck Thursday and early Friday.
The bodies of Duane Bentley and Susan Bentley, both in their 50s, were recovered Friday morning, hours after tornadoes, strong winds and oversized hail pushed through much of Michigan, overturning vehicles and destroying homes.
The Bentleys’ home was ripped off its foundation and sent into a nearby pond in Ingham County’s Locke Township, near Lansing, police said.
A 29-year-old man was killed when strong wind collapsed his home around him in Kalkaska County.
In Millington Township, a 14-month-old boy in a crib escaped injury after apparently being tossed about 40 feet by a tornado that destroyed a home early Friday, fire officials said.
A neighbor found the baby under a pile of debris, still in the crib.
“Sometimes miracles happen,” firefighter Dan Detgen said.
National Weather Service officials in Gaylord believe as many as four tornadoes, plus a water spout over an area lake, may have touched down in Kalkaska, Cheboygan, Alpena and Mio.
“This is extremely rare,” said David Lawrence, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Gaylord. “When you’re this deep into the month of October, it’s a very rare event.”
The Missouri Highway Patrol said Kent Ensor, 44, and Kristy Secrease, 25, died when a tornado hit her mobile home in Monroe County.
A line of thunderstorms that rumbled through Kentucky produced several tornadoes, smashing mobile homes and injuring at least 11 people in Owensboro. The most serious injury was a broken leg, said Richard Payne, Daviess County director of emergency management.
The storms forced officials to briefly close the Glover Cary Bridge, which carries traffic across the Ohio River between Indiana and Kentucky. A Kentucky Transportation Cabinet inspector was called to check the structure following an apparent tornado, but no damage was found, cabinet spokesman Keith Todd said.
In Indiana, authorities declared a state of emergency after a tornado hit Nappanee, about 20 miles southeast of South Bend. Police said five people were taken to hospitals with minor injuries and 200 to 250 buildings were damaged, half of them severely. Among the businesses damaged there were three recreation vehicle plants that are among the city’s largest employers.
A tornado in Pensacola, Fla., sent mall shoppers and children at the Greater Little Rock Baptist Church’s day care center running for safety just before the twister hit Thursday morning, said Escambia County sheriff’s spokesman Glenn Austin.
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