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Strong Winds Leave A Path Of Destruction In Van Buren County

Posted at 7:31 PM, Nov 18, 2013
and last updated 2013-11-18 19:32:05-05

MATTAWAN, Mich.,– Mattawan was one of the hardest areas in Van Buren County after Sunday’s storm tore through West Michigan. The National Weather Service says it was 70 mph straight line winds that left the path of destruction.

While crews worked around the clock to restore power, several residents were trimming tree branches and patching up their roofs.

In the nearby town of Lawton, the wind was so strong it ripped off one woman’s garage door and the force of it so powerful it then tore through one of the garage walls.

Shelly Stansifer says she is just happy everyone is OK after a part of a tree broke through their living room window sending glass flying into the house.

“It doesn’t seem real to me it’s just the scariest thing I’ve ever went through with my kids, everybody’s safe and that’s the most important thing,” said Stansifer.