Michigan
Drone video shows Michigan home sliced in half by falling tree during thunderstorm: Watch
Video: House split in half after tree falls straight into it
After severe storms in Union Pier, Michigan, a tree fell into an unoccupied house and broke it in two.
After a severe thunderstorm rolled through Michigan earlier this week, drone footage captured one home in Berrien County that was split in two by a falling tree.
The footage, taken by Nate’s Dronography in the southwestern Michigan community of Union Pier, shows the multi-story house sliced apart in two separate places by a large tree that was toppled during the intense thunderstorms. The two sections of the tree smashed through the roof and both floors of the house, which was fortunately unoccupied at the time.
Watch storm damage as tree slices home in half
Tropical storm tracker: Gilma expected to dissipate this weekend
Storms leave thousands without power
The storms, which swept across Michigan Tuesday evening, causing widespread power outages, flooding, and school closures the following day. More than 330,000 Michigan homes and businesses across Michigan were left without power on Wednesday morning by the storm, which meteorologists said was fueled by a wave of intense, record-breaking heat that has settled over the region this week.
Cleanup and repair continued throughout August 28, with numerous school districts cancelling classes.
As of Thursday afternoon, there were still more than 92,000 power outages reported across the state, many of them in the greater Detroit metro area and further north in Gladwin, Ogemaw and Lake Counties.
On Wednesday, the Detroit Free Press, a part of the USA TODAY network, reported that utility repairs were expected to cost more than that $50 million, and that many customers would not get their electricity back until Friday.
Max Hauptman is a Trending Reporter for USA TODAY. He can be reached at MHauptman@gannett.com