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Powerful storms unleashed a series of tornadoes across Illinois and Indiana on Tuesday, wreaking havoc by flattening homes, toppling trees, and cutting power lines. The surge of emergencies overwhelmed a 911 dispatch center south of Chicago, officials reported.
Newton County Sheriff Shannon Cothran issued a plea via video message, standing before what appeared to be a demolished house in Lake Village, a small community in northwestern Indiana. “Please do not come here. Do not try to help right now,” he urged.
The tornadoes caused significant destruction in Lake Village, where several homes were obliterated. Indiana State Police Cpl. Eric Rot confirmed there were injuries, though he could not specify their number or severity.
The National Weather Service had cautioned that severe storms, accompanied by rain and hail, posed a risk of spawning intense tornadoes, damaging winds, and enormous hailstones from the southern Plains to the southern Great Lakes. Tornado watches were issued across states stretching from Oklahoma to Michigan.
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(AP) -
(AP)
Numerous tornadoes were reported across northeastern Illinois and northwestern Indiana. However, the precise count will remain unknown until officials can conduct comprehensive damage assessments, according to Andrew Lyons, a meteorologist at the Storm Prediction Center.
He described this as a fairly typical early spring strong storm system. It is expected to continue to move east across parts of the mid-Atlantic and East Coast Wednesday, likely bringing more severe weather, he said.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said in a post on the social platform X that he’d been briefed on the storm and tornado damage.
“Keeping in our thoughts all Illinoisans impacted by the severe weather — we’ll be here to help them recover,” he said.
A tornado struck down near the Kankakee fairgrounds, about 57 miles (92 kilometers) south of Chicago, before traveling northeast into Aroma Park, where it caused extensive damage, according to the Kankakee County Sheriff’s Office. No injuries have been reported.
“I want to remind area residents to check on their neighbors and loved ones but to avoid unnecessary travel, if at all possible,” Kankakee County Sheriff Mike Downey said in a statement.
In video shared on social media, the twister is seen ripping across a field of farmland near an airport while vehicles lined the road.
More than 2 million Americans were at a moderate risk of severe weather in Illinois and Indiana. Nearly 22 million were at a slightly lesser risk in a zone that includes Chicago, Fort Worth, Texas, and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.