Major storms whipped up tornadoes in parts of Illinois and Indiana that leveled homes, killing at least two people and injuring others, and another round of rain, hail and strong winds made its way through the region Wednesday, authorities said.
Several intense supercell thunderstorms moved across northern Illinois and northwestern Indiana on Tuesday, including one supercell responsible for at least four tornadoes, according to the National Weather Service office in Chicago.
“Please do not come here. Do not try to help right now,” Newton County Sheriff Shannon Cothran said in a video update in front of what looked to be a destroyed home in the small northwestern Indiana community of Lake Village.
People were trapped in their damaged homes and had to be rescued. Many roads were unpassable and at least 70 utility poles were knocked down, officials said at a Wednesday morning news conference.
A tornado struck a home, killing an elderly couple, Newton County Coroner Scott McCord said in a news release. Their names were not released.
Fewer than 10 people were hurt in Tuesday's storms, Laurie Postma, a spokeswoman for the Lake Township Volunteer Fire Department, said at the news conference.
David Ferris, a paramedic in a neighboring county who lives in Lake Village, just south of the area that was hit, said he, his wife, and their dogs “rode it out in our downstairs bathtub.” They were unscathed, except for losing power. He went out to help with rescue efforts and helped people who suffered cuts, scrapes and bumps to the head.
“We had another house where a guy crawled out,” Ferris told The Associated Press in an interview. “He was having some trouble breathing because he was covered in house insulation.”
Ferris said the local Family Dollar store was destroyed, as well as a gas station across the street. He said multiple large trees were uprooted.
Survey crews were expected to determine the strength and number of tornadoes on Wednesday, the weather service said.
Source: WPLG
