A number of communities in Southwest Michigan are just beginning the long process of cleanup and recovery after multiple tornadoes struck on Friday. Four people were killed and dozens of others injured.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency Sunday in Cass, Saint Joseph and Branch Counties.
Tim Miner is the Branch County Emergency Manager. He joined Michigan Public's Doug Tribou on Morning Edition to discuss the recovery efforts.
Doug Tribou: I saw some local footage shared by a local police chief there. Drone footage of before and after of a small neighborhood. And even after years of seeing tornado destruction footage in the news, it is shocking. For our listeners across the state, could you describe the scope of what's happened there?
Tim Miner: Yeah, this was a very intense tornado, is how I would describe it. They're calling it an EF3 at this point, under their preliminary rating for it. It luckily was not on the ground that long comparatively to the ones they typically see out west. It was very destructive in the areas that it was on the ground. It was very kind in the areas that it was not on the ground. So, we're thankful for that given the path that it had.
DT: What kind of work is happening now and what are the priorities?
TM: We passed the rescue operations phase a couple of days ago. We're into recovery. So recovery means getting people's lives put back together with the hope of some sense of normalcy. So the things we're doing is to try to support that: giving them the services they need; getting them the tools they need to go in and assess and begin rebuilding; getting them the access so the residents are able to access their properties at this point and take a look at what they need to do to rebuild. There's a combination of insured, noninsured, underinsured properties out here, so there's a lot of people in a lot of different positions.
One of our biggest battles that we fight with this is what we call "tragedy tourism." Everybody thinks they need to come see this. Everybody thinks that they're going to see something that no one else saw, and then they're going to get it on their social media site. We would just encourage people to give [storm victims] their space, allow them to grieve, allow them to rebuild in a way that they want to without an audience. So that's, I guess, our ask. And if you're ready, I have a secondary ask.
DT: Yes.
TM: The secondary ask is don't send any more pallets of water. We don't need any more perishable things. I'm looking at a pile of water and supplies. The thing they need is support... thoughts, prayers. If you'd like to give financially, give to the Branch County United Way. Give to the people on the ground of the Branch County Victim Services Unit. Give to the American Red Cross. These are the people that are out here wrapping their arms around these people and providing them the services that they'll actually remember.
The work we do, they're not going to remember. You know, we're behind the scenes making it safe. We're behind the scenes, getting it clear enough for them to get in. That's what we do. Then we step away and allow them to rebuild.
DT: One of the questions that has come up is about how much notice residents were given here. Governor Gretchen Whitmer has called for a federal investigation into why no tornado watch was issued before the storms touched down. What is your view of that or what's your understanding about that at this point?
TM: So, let me just put you in my shoes. I received appropriate warning and alert, okay, myself. To the point where I was able to make it into the [affected] area as this was occurring. So I don't know. I don't have any information on that. Once we got here, we were boots on the ground with response operations.
All of that will come later. All of that is done by others. It's not my position to judge that at this point. I'm looking at it as I have a lot of work ahead of me. I have not had any time to reflect on any of that and frankly, don't have a comment.
I had not heard that concern yet. So, I did hear concerns about certain things not getting, you know, people not getting a certain alert. I don't know what the exact situation is with that. We had life-safety priorities. You know, all of that is nuance until we have everyone accounted for, so kind of low on the totem pole.
DT: Thank you very much for your time this morning.
TM: You're very welcome.
Editor's note: Some quotes in this article have been lightly edited for length and clarity. You can listen to the full conversation near the top of this page.
