Illinois Tornado Aftermath: Power Outages and Ongoing Cleanup in Mokena, Monee, and Orland Park

Video captured water pouring into the school’s gym.

Many crews were working on the electrical repairs with trees on wires and poles damaged.

“It the most severe wind storm I’ve ever seen; I don’t know what the mile-an-hour winds were, but it was an incredibly powerful storm that came through,” Marian Catholic High School President Michael Riordan said.

Crews were working without power to try and dry out the gym to save the wood floor.

“We’re still assessing but feel we can open the building once we have power comes, given us two- to three-day window,” Riordan said.

Downed power lines reportedly sparked a house fire in Frankfort.

Hundreds of students at Homewood-Flossmoor High School were forced to shelter with faculty during the storms.

Cleanup has been relentless.

Some Flossmoor residents say this is the fourth time in recent weeks with storm damage and yet another power outage

“Look at the way it is right now; ComEd is working hard, but it’s a lot,” Flossmoor resident Claudia Trejo said.

The Flossmoor mayor was cleaning up, too, on Wednesday.

She says of the recent storms, Tuesday’s storm was one of the worst.

“The first one, on July 3, that was pretty bad, all three of those storms combined,” Mayor Michelle Nelson said.

Businesses downtown are also without power.

Maureen Mader of Dunning’s Market was giving away food that would have gone bad Tuesday.

“The business loss is really tremendous for business owners at this time,” Mader said.

Flossmoor Station Brewing Co. joined in to give away beer. On Wednesday they are cooking up what food they have left for an after-storm discount.

Residents in Crete are cleaning up significant storm damage and coping with power outages just weeks after recovering from a previous storm.

Fallen trees, damaged homes and downed power lines were visible across the community as residents assessed the latest round of destruction.

Kathy Ford, a Crete resident, said the repeated storms have left her overwhelmed. Ford reported water damage in her basement, broken windows and tree branches scattered around her property. She is also without power.

“It’s like, ‘oh my God, how’s it keep hitting us?'” Ford said.

Ford said her family had only recently finished cleaning up damage from a storm on July 27 before the latest storm struck.

“We just got the trees out the yard from July 27, and then this storm, more trees was in the yard; so that’s just unbelievable. It’s overwhelming,” she said.

Elsewhere in Crete, resident Ken Walenga said severe weather conditions developed rapidly as the storm moved through the area.

“The winds became so intense; we could barely see 3 feet in front of the car,” Walenga said.

Walenga said he and his family had just arrived home when a large tree crashed down in his front yard, bringing down power lines. Although his home still has electricity, he said he immediately worried about the danger posed by potentially energized wires near his front door.

“I’m a retired technician. I know the damage it can do. It can take you in an instant,” Walenga said. “I assume it’s live until I know different.”

A few miles away, near Steger Road and Interstate 394, Cherie’s Garden Daycare was forced to close because of a power outage. The facility serves 50 children, and owner Cherie Kelly said the closure has created challenges for families who rely on the daycare for childcare.

“You know they’re having to probably use vacation time, their, you know, sick days, things like that. Nobody wants to do that because your daycare’s closed because of a power outage,” Kelly said.

Kelly said the daycare has lost power twice in the past two weeks. During the previous outage, the facility was closed for four days.

“The impact financially is very difficult. I’ve been here since 1997. I have never seen devastation like this,” Kelly said.

As cleanup efforts continue, local officials are warning residents about hazards that remain after the storm has passed. One concern is the use of generators during power outages.

Crete Police Chief Scott Pieritz said officers have encountered residents operating generators inside garages, even with garage doors open.

“We have seen a couple generators inside, where the garages are open, and they’ve stopped and talked to those folks and said, ‘Listen, I know you think it’s safe because it’s airing it out. It’s not. You got to have that outside,'” Pieritz said.

In Tinley Park, the Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre was also ripped apart.

In Lansing, neighbors described the sky turning dark in the middle of the day and said it wasn’t until the storm passed that they realized just how widespread the damage was.

MORE COVERAGE | At least 3 tornadoes down trees and power lines, cause flooding and damage across south suburbs