'Despair': Survivors recount Union City tornado
UNION CITY, Mich. (WOOD) — Two days after a deadly tornado tore through the Union City area, survivors are picking up the pieces.
Mackenzie Day, 18, and her brother Tyler Adamson, 16, were home when the tornado hit their house on Prairie Rose Lane. Day said the storm formed quickly. Their family took shelter in the basement as it moved through.
“My mom got down on top of both of us and my dad was trying to get the mattress on top of us,” Day said. “It didn’t sound like a train, it didn’t sound like a whistle, it sounded like loud wind destruction and it was tearing everything apart.”
When the storm passed, their home was no longer livable.
“The only emotion I can describe is despair,” said Adamson. “I started sobbing. I fell on the ground. I didn’t know what was gonna happen, I didn’t know what to do.”
The family has not been able to return to the house and is currently staying in a hotel.
“I’m still coming to the reality that it actually happened,” said Day. “Every house after ours is gone. It’s nothing. It’s all debris. You can’t even tell there were houses there.”
Two houses down, they said neighbors the family had known for years were killed in the storm.
“We knew them for like seven years and we had parties out on the lake with them,” Adamson said.
“It makes me feel really sad because they were good people,” added Day. “They didn’t deserve it.”
One of the three people killed in the Union City area was identified by family as 65-year-old Penni Jo Guthrie, who died from injuries she received during the tornado that destroyed her Union City home.
Despite the devastation, Day said the support from the community has meant a lot in the days since the tornado.
“I feel really cared for and appreciated. I’ve had so many people reach out to me,” she said.
Adamson said he hopes people remember the human impact of the disaster as recovery continues.
“I feel like so many people are stuck on the EF rating, whether it’s an EF3 or EF4,” he said. “But people died. That’s the worst part. … People lost their lives. Their family members are going through really hard times, even harder than us and I feel like some people don’t understand the gravity of this situation until they’re inside of it.”
On Saturday, the National Weather Service rated the tornado near Union City as an EF3 and the one near Three Rivers an EF2.
VOLUNTEERS COLLECT ITEMS FOR TORNADO VICTIMS
Day and Adamson visited Union City High School to pick up supplies they needed Sunday. Union City Community Schools announced it would be closed Monday in the wake of the tornado.
Across the community, volunteers spent the weekend collecting and distributing supplies like food, water and other necessities for those impacted by the storm.
Among those helping was Doreen Holtz, a Sherwood resident who works in Union City Community Schools and graduated from Union City High School. For Holtz, volunteering after the tornado feels especially personal. Two years ago, a tornado destroyed homes in Sherwood, including her family’s.
“Volunteering actually hits home for me,” Holtz said. “Knowing from previous experience, it’s a lot — mentally, physically — and it’s just beginning so there’s a long road ahead.”
She said the support her family received after that storm is what motivates her to help others now.
“It doesn’t just impact the people who experience it, it impacts the community as a whole,” she said. “This is my community, this is where I’m from, this is where I work so I have to do what I can.”
As cleanup and rebuilding begin, volunteers say they will continue helping however they can, reminding residents that recovery will take time but they won’t go through it alone.
‘WE’RE ALL HERE TOGETHER’: UNION CITY COMMUNITY HOLDS VIGIL
Union City came together for a prayer vigil Sunday night, just two days after the tornado rolled through the area. Evidence of the destruction of that EF3 tornado covers Union City. But when speaking to people in the community, there’s a strength they say can only be rooted in faith, family and community.
At the community vigil, pastors prayed over their village and those impacted, then handed the microphone to neighbors, giving them a chance to speak on what they’ve experienced these past 48 hours.
Duane Green was at his woodworking shop in downtown Union City when the tornado hit.
“People were just kind of walking around town, beautiful day, you know, never expect anything. ‘Why is the sirens going off?’ And so we started pulling them in, getting them into the basement, and I watched it come up the street before I went in and got in the basement,” Green said.
While he says the initial shock is wearing off a bit, he predicts the next week or two will be “a struggle.”
“It’s just keeping up with the demand that people are going to start running out of water and running out of food,” Green predicts.
But for now, he’s feeling grateful for his community.
“Just people pouring in from everywhere, which is amazing. But it was nice to be able to kind of hug on some of the people in the community that we see every single day and just be able to pray with them and for them to see that we’re all kind of hurting. We’re all here together. We’re all here for each other,” Green said.
Resident Linda Rumsey rode out her first tornado on Friday with her grandchildren. They all made their way to the basement when they got the cell phone tornado warning alert.
“The noise was horrible. It sounded like a freight train. We just bowed our heads, held each other and prayed,” she said. “We lost some shingles but it’s nothing compared to what other people have lost. … It’s horrible. People’s homes, they’re, I can’t even imagine. … Everybody seems to care about everybody. Everybody’s willing to step up and help.”
The city manager said if people are still in search of resources — whether that’s food or shelter — reach out to Union City High School and volunteers will help direct you to the right help.
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com.
Post a Comment for "'Despair': Survivors recount Union City tornado"