TEXAS TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A powerful EF-2 tornado that ripped through Kalamazoo County one year ago, leaving widespread destruction but miraculously claimed no lives.
The tornado, with winds reaching 135 mph, carved an 11-mile path of devastation through the area, including the Pavillion Estates Trailer Park where several residents became trapped and required rescue.
Watch: Raw video of Portage area tornado
Sheriff Rick Fuller witnessed the storm's approach firsthand.
"I was able to watch the storm cloud go across the bottom, and knew right away that we were going to be suffering damage, and I feared for lives," Fuller said.
Body camera footage from first responders captured the chaotic moments as the tornado struck, with officers shouting warnings and rushing to help victims.
Watch: Body camera footage of sheriff's deputies searching storm wreckage
In the immediate aftermath, Kalamazoo County Sheriff deputies went door-to-door through damaged structures, calling out for survivors and checking to ensure residents were safe.
"The fire departments, the police departments, all the emergency departments, ambulances, they all come together. They work together, and they've trained and practiced together for many years for a lot of different emergencies," Fuller said.
While many homes and businesses have been repaired or replaced in the year since the disaster, some damage will take generations to heal.
"While many of the homes and businesses in the area have either been repaired or replaced — there is some destruction that takes a lifetime to fix. Thousands of trees — many of which had stood for more than a century — lost in the storm,"
The landscape transformation was immediate and profound.
Helicopter video of damage in Portage
"The roads were all blocked, piles of debris, mostly shingles, some garage doors, things like that. But the trees everywhere was just immediately felt because you remember the beauty that was here," Fuller said.
May 7 will remain a day of weather infamy in West Michigan, but the community's preparedness likely saved lives. Residents survived because they received timely warnings through weather technology and alerts.
Aerial video of tornado damage inside Pavilion Estates Mobile Home Park
For the latest details on the weather in West Michigan, head to the FOX 17 Weather page.
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