Food - News
The Tragic Aldi Destruction That Left At Least Two People Dead
By MARIA FALLER
On Friday, May 20, a tornado with winds of up to 150 mph pummeled through Gaylord, Michigan, ripping apart a local Aldi store. It was a category three (EF3) tornado that tore through the Michigan town, destroyed the roof of a Hobby Lobby, took down trees and power lines, and even flipped over cars.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency in Otsego County on Friday and took to Twitter to share her sincere condolences. One Redditor posted the above photo in the r/aldi thread with the caption "My aldi in Gaylord Michigan," along with a sad face emoji.
At least 44 people were taken to the hospital for related injuries, and state police Lt. Derrick Carroll stated that two people in their 70s were killed. Mayor Todd Sharrard said, "I've never seen anything like this in my life," and Gaylord City Council member Jordan Awrey, noted, "It took out an insane amount of buildings and just jeopardized so many lives."
One resident, Laurie Noa, noted, "It was loud, like a train roaring," and another mentioned witnessing RVs fully flipped over. CNN notes that it's a rare occurrence for this part of Michigan to have a tornado, and the damage is "catastrophic."