FERNDALE, Mich. (WXYZ) — A line of severe storms that sailed through metro Detroit Wednesday afternoon left a trail of damage, downed trees and power lines and ripped roofs off buildings in parts of the area.
Reporter Simon Shaykhet assessed damage in Ferndale and talked to residents.
“Whatever came through here and tore this down must have been pretty powerful,” said Darryl Martin, who witnessed the storm.
Ray Fairbanks was on his way to work when the wave of wild weather created destruction that littered the area with debris.
"Half the roof blew, air conditioner blew off, stuff all over everybody's car," he said outside the Voyager restaurant on Vesper Street, where part of a roof landed on cars.
Downed trees and snapped power lines brought DTE to the area to restore power.
An antique shop on Hilton Road north of 9 Mile Road sustained damage to their roof, with water pouring inside.
“I could hear the wind start whipping up… I heard all this noise. We don’t have enough buckets to take care of everything,” said Daniel Selman, a worker at the antique shop. "There's two floors in the top back of the store. The whole roof ripped off. You can see daylight right to the sky. It's flooding throughout."
Photo courtesy Maria Tee
Selman walked us through the store where you could see standing water throughout the building. He said there's a leak in the back of the store.
Some things were lost and Selman said he's working to salvage other items. He told us he's not the only one in the area to lose items after the storm.
As of Wednesday evening, there were no reports of injuries.
At an apartment complex on 9 Mile Road and Paxton Street, damage was left hanging over the building.
Businesses were not alone. Homeowners also felt the force. A tree smashed onto a car on Saratoga Street.
Rashawn Warren, the owner of a roofing company, described the storm as a "whirlwind" with a "whistling" sound.
"It came in pretty quick when the rain came down and I heard a big boom," Warren said.
Cleanup efforts continued Wednesday night. Firefighters spent hours with DTE to clean debris and remove downed power lines.
Other areas in metro Detroit also sustained damage.
Jennifer John sent us this photo from Rochester Hills.
