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On August 24, 2023 a late-night storm created seven tornadoes in five counties in Michigan’s lower Peninsula. The tornados led to two deaths as well as flipping over vehicles, destroying property, and causing hundreds of thousands of people to lose power. A state of emergency was called by Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer to help Wayne and Monroe counties with the response and recovery efforts.
The State Emergency Operations Center was activated in response to the flooding. The SEOC officials worked with the local and private parties with items such as pumping flooded highways and clearing trees from roadways. DTE Energy had reported that 117,000 customers lacked power while Consumers Energy reported 122,000 without power. Chris Laird, the company’s vice president of electric operations dispatched 3,000 line workers and other personnel to help restore power to the homes.