(WWJ) – Cleanup efforts are underway after an EF3 tornado tore through Gaylord, Mich., on Friday, leaving “complete devastation” in its wake. With maximum winds of 150 mph, many people were left scrambling for cover, including one man who found himself in a Taco Bell bathroom.
The generational weather event killed two people and injured 44 others, according to Michigan State Police. The twister knocked down power lines and trees all over town, making for a chaotic Friday afternoon, which National Weather Service officials say “could have been worse.”
So what’s next for the popular Up North destination? WWJ’s Zach Clark searches for answers in a new edition of The Daily J podcast.
It will go on record as the worst tornado in Michigan in half a century. And it may have just made an existing housing shortage issue in the Gaylord area even worse, according to Detroit News reporter Kayla Ruble.
"There has been a housing shortage issue in Northern Michigan for a long time, affordable housing in particular, because of the sort of dichotomy between the summer Up North travel residences and the fact that people who sort of serve our local tourism economy do need places to stay," Ruble said. "It's worse now that you have however many people -- we don't really have a number yet -- who are gonna be looking for completely new homes."
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