A toddler was killed and his mother critically injured Wednesday when a tree crashed into their Michigan home during a tornado, officials said.
The 2-year-old and his mom were enjoying an afternoon nap together when “a massive tree was uprooted, falling onto a house and through the roof, landing on a bed,” the City of Livonia announced.
Every available firefighter in the city — and even the family’s neighbors — braved the storm to free the pair, who were pinned beneath the four-trunk hardwood tree around 3:30 p.m.
It took rescue crews an hour, a dozen chainsaws and high-pressure airbags to remove the broken roof and lift the tree off the boy and his mother.
The toddler succumbed to his injuries at the scene, officials said.
His mother was taken to a local hospital in critical condition. She was conscious and was being treated by paramedics throughout most of the extrication.
A 2-week-old infant was also napping in a separate room, along with the grandmother. Neither were injured, Click On Detroit reported.
“This is a terrible tragedy for our community,” said Mayor Maureen Miller Brosnan. “Our hearts are broken, too, and we send our deepest sympathies.”
The deadly tornado reached speeds of 95 mph, according to the National Weather Service’s Detroit office.
It left behind widespread damage as it tore six miles through Livonia, leaving more than 30,000 homes and businesses without power.
According to city officials, the “spin-up storm” manifested so quickly that it didn’t show up on NSW radars until it was too late to issue severe weather warnings.
The twister was one of several that touched down in the eastern US Wednesday.
In a similar incident, a tornado downed a tree onto a home in Gaithersburg, Maryland — just north of Washington, DC — trapping five people inside.
One person was taken to the hospital with traumatic injuries, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Assistant Chief David Pazos told CNN.
There were several structure collapses throughout the area as NSW officials warned residents to “take cover immediately!!!”
Dramatic videos showed a massive Wizard of Oz-esque tornado touching down near DC.