This story was updated to add new information.
LANSING — The May storm that brought a tornado through the Lansing area also caused millions of dollars in damage and cleanup costs.
Lansing Board of Water and Light spokesperson Amy Adamy said on Tuesday, July 8, that the utility’s cost for the storms was about $5.6 million. She added that BWL is still working to get relief funds from the state.
Cleanup costs for the city of Lansing reached $205,087, said spokesperson Scott Bean. However, he added that figure “does not include the cost of disposing the downed trees and plant material that is currently in a holding area.”
A spokesperson for Consumers Energy said the storm caused “$60 million in restoration costs statewide” that included 850 transmission poles and 56 miles of power lines. Consumers was not able to isolate costs by county.
The storms on the night of May 15 included an EF-1 tornado that touched down north of Charlotte and moved north toward Lansing while a band of thunderstorms swept across the state, the National Weather Service later confirmed.
Two other tornados were confirmed in the state, but they were EF-0 tornadoes, the weakest classification. An EF-1 tornado, like the one that passed near Lansing, has wind speeds ranging from 86 mph to 110 mph.
The late-night line of storms moved across the Lansing area and knocked out power to tens of thousands of people, many of whom remained without power for several days. More than 150,000 electric customers across Michigan lost power.
Days after the storm, BWL General Manager Dick Peffley described damage left behind as “carnage” and said the storms knocked down nearly two dozen, 110-foot transmission poles.
Contact reporter Matt Mencarini at mjmencarini@lsj.com.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: May storm that included tornado near Charlotte caused more than $5.6M in damage, clean up
Reporting by Matt Mencarini, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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