Tornadoes Kill 5 in U.S. state of Michigan

Seven severe tornadoes tore across five counties in the U.S. Midwestern state of Michigan on Thursday night, claiming five lives and causing widespread damage and power outages, reported Xinhua, quoting local media reported on Saturday.

A strong tornado with winds up to 125 mph struck Lansing, the state's capital, on Thursday night, killing an 84-year-old woman and injuring three others.

In western Michigan, a 21-year-old woman and two girls, aged one and three, respectively, died in a head-on collision between two vehicles that hydroplaned on wet pavement.

In Ingham County, southeast of Lansing, one person was confirmed dead and several people were severely injured in a pileup of more than 25 vehicles on an interstate highway.

The storms caused power outages for more than 390,000 customers in Michigan by 7:15 p.m. (2315 GMT) Friday, according to the PowerOutage.us website.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer on Friday declared a state of emergency for Wayne and Monroe counties.