SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (WXYZ) — More than 19,000 DTE customers are without power after strong storms moved through Southeast Michigan on Wednesday night.
Video: Severe weather aftermath, home crushed by a tree in Southfield:
As of around 5:30 a.m. Friday, 19,625 customers were without power, according to DTE's outage map.
Trees and power lines are down in several communities, leaving behind damage.
Video: Beverly Hills hit hard by Wednesday evening storms:
One man we spoke to in Beverly Hills says he was barely missed by a falling power line.
"As soon as I get into my driveway, there's a powerline that got hit off right behind me," said Beverly Hills resident Zach Peters. "Luckily it went dead so it didn't do anything but then trees were falling in my backyard and then one got stabbed through my kitchen and went through my roof and in my kitchen."
We also spoke to a man who unfortunately had a tree fall on his house. Luckily, his grandchildren weren't in the room where the tree fell leaving the previous night.
"All of a sudden we heard a boom," Stacey Tucker said. "They weren't here, they had just left the night before. They were supposed to be here, but they weren't here."
The power outages have also affected businesses, who don't have power and can't take in customers for the time being.
“We can do nothing," Mezza Mediterranean Grille Southfield assistant manager Adnan Assarawe said. “When the power comes up, we will do our best to do everything to get back up and start serving our customers.”
As a safety precaution, if you see a downed power line, stay at least 20 feet away from it and always treat it like a live wire. Also, never use a portable generator inside of your home because it emits carbon monoxide, which can be deadly. Keep generators outside and away from windows.
For customers who have lost power or see a downed power line, there are three ways to contact DTE – either by phone at 800-477-4747, on the web at dteenergy.com or you can access the DTE Energy Mobile App from your smartphone or tablet.
Video: Southfield flooding and storm damage following Wednesday's weather:
Video: Fraser & Beverly Hills hit hard by Wednesday night's storms
