CHICAGO (WLS) — Residents across the Chicago area are grappling with the aftermath of Wednesday’s severe weather, which left significant storm damage in its wake.
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In the West Beverly neighborhood, numerous trees and power lines have been knocked down along Fairfield Avenue, spanning the stretch between 100th and 101st streets.
Additional footage reveals trees toppled onto both houses and vehicles, illustrating the storm’s impact.
A tangle of fallen trees and broken branches is scattered across the streets, making cleanup efforts a formidable task.
Residents are advised to exercise caution while navigating the affected areas due to blocked roads.
SEE ALSO | Track power outages in your area with the ABC7 Chicago Power Outage Tracker
“It got real strong and real scary, and it looked like you were in the middle of a tornado. And then we ran in the basement and not even a minute later this tree cracked,” said Jim Smerz of Evergreen Park.
He describes the storm as bringing tornado-like winds. A tree damaged his garage, roof and gutters.
In northwest suburban Elgin, Chopper 7 spotted crews working, after heavy rainfall saturated the ground there, weakening root systems and making trees more susceptible to falling.
In northwest Indiana, many communities also woke up Thursday with downed trees and power lines.
The South Shore Line announced it suspended services through the Thursday morning rush hour after a freight train derailed and power loss.
Partial service will be restored to the Monon Corridor afternoon rush hour only, effective with eastbound Monon Corridor Train No. 303, departing Millennium Station at 3:30 p.m. Following 303, departures will include eastbound trains 305, 307, 309, 311 and westbound train 312.
Lakeshore Corridor service remains suspended throughout Thursday evening. In place of Monon shuttle train service, SSL will operate four Extra Monon Corridor trains. Delays are expected.
Metra is currently honoring South Shore Line tickets for passengers who want to use Metra Electric District train service.
Trains will run on a weekend/holiday schedule Friday. There will be busing between the Miller and Hegewisch stations.
Visit mysouthshoreline.com/service-updates for updates.
According to Griffith police, there are trees and limbs down in multiple areas, with many streets currently blocked.
They ask people living in the area to avoid unnecessary travel, while crews work to clear roads and respond to calls for service.
Eighty-year-old Griffith resident John Galambos said the past several weeks have been relentless.
“The last couple weeks and such, it’s been crazy. Tornadoes north, south, east and west and now something like this; I’m too old for this,” Galambos said.
Galambos, a retired disabled veteran, said his property was damaged when two massive trees nearly crushed his garage and the home where he and his wife have lived for more than 50 years.
“Then all of a sudden, it started getting really bad in my living room; so we went in our basement and then all heck broke loose. It was crazy, the noise and the sound,” he said.
Griffith resident Don Wiltfong said the conditions deteriorated quickly.
“By the time we got in the house, it was heavy rain. And then, in the blink of an eye, it was horizontal hail and winds that I guess to be 70, 80 miles an hour. That’s when the tree went down,” he said.
The falling tree crushed the second floor of a neighboring home. No one was injured. Neighbors again stepped in to help one another deal with the destruction.
“You go down Broad Street just before Ridge, you’ll see the lines are down. The poles are all snapped off,” said Mike, a neighborhood resident.
Griffith, located in Lake County, was already under a disaster declaration when the latest storms hit.
“The bigger issue besides the trees, that people are waking up this morning with water in their basement because we don’t have any electricity,” said Rick Ryfa, president of the Griffith Town Council.
The outages are also affecting local businesses. Ulysses and Alberto Gomez, who opened their restaurant, Sangria, a month ago, said the lack of power could prevent them from participating in the town’s Country Fest this weekend.
“Right now we’re worried about it because we don’t have power and we are worried to lose all the merchandise,” said Alberto Gomez, a co-owner of the restaurant.
No serious injuries were reported. Officials said it could take up to two days for power to be restored. Residents in need of emergency services are advised to call 911. Storm damage can be reported by calling 211 or visiting in211.org.
Merrillville is also dealing with more flooding and power outages just days after the area was hit by an EF-2 tornado.
ABC7’s Jaisol Martinez said the weather will be clear and calm for any cleanup needed on Thursday.
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