Two-year-old dies, mother injured in tornado in Michigan

Firefighters in Michigan have confirmed that a two-year-old child was killed when a tornado caused a tree to fall on a house and land on the sleeping child.

The incident occurred Wednesday afternoon in the city of Livonia.

A 25-member firefighter crew used chainsaws to cut away the roof and branches in order to lift the tree with the help of high-pressure airbags.

A two-week-old baby in a crib and the children’s grandmother were also in the home but were uninjured, Livonia Fire Chief Robert Johnson said.

A statement from the City of Livonia said the child died “when a rapidly developing tornado struck several neighborhoods in Livonia” at about 3:30 p.m. EDT (8:30 p.m. BST).

“This is a terrible tragedy for our community,” said Mayor Maureen Miller Brosnan. “We are also heartbroken and want to express our deepest condolences.”

The tornado uprooted a “huge tree,” the city’s statement said, which landed on the bed where a mother and her child were sleeping.

According to the fire department, it took the emergency services almost an hour to reach the family. The child’s death was confirmed at the scene of the accident.

“We also thank all of our compassionate neighbors who worked hard to clear trees and assist our firefighters and officers on the scene,” said Mayor Brosnan.

The city’s statement goes on to say that it received “no advance warning” from the National Weather Service (NWS).

“An NWS spokesperson referred to a spin-up storm that did not appear on radar in time to issue a warning,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, another tornado struck at least two homes about 500 miles from Livonia, in a Maryland suburb north of Washington DC

Pete Piringer, a spokesman for the Montgomery County Fire and Emergency Services, reported that rescue efforts took place after several tornado sightings were confirmed in the area.

Four people were rescued from a house, including one who was “trapped and recovered by a technical rescue team,” he posted on X.

At another home in the city of Gaithersburg, a “large tree was on top of the house, trapping a resident,” he said. The person was later rescued and checked for injuries.