Officials search tornado-damaged areas after strong storms hit Illinois and Indiana

Authorities and residents in Illinois and Indiana searched tornado-damaged areas Friday after severe storms struck the region Thursday, leaving around 380,000 customers without power. In Merrillville, Indiana, homes and buildings were torn apart, trees and power lines blocked streets, and part of a high school’s roof was ripped off. Multiple agencies assisted local first responders in clearing roads and assessing damage, while similar destruction was reported in Streator, Illinois, and Hebron, Indiana. The National Weather Service confirmed at least two tornadoes in Streator and Hebron, with survey teams investigating further to determine total touchdowns. In Streator, a manufacturing and farm city about 100 miles southwest of Chicago, emergency crews inspected damage, and a reunification center was set up at city hall alongside a Red Cross shelter. Streator Mayor Tara Bedei stated there were no reported deaths, praising the quick response of emergency personnel. Jennifer Hall in Elkhart, Indiana, discovered a tree limb had crashed through her rental home’s roof during the storms, forcing her to use buckets to catch leaking rain. Meanwhile, power outages affected 235,000 homes and businesses in Illinois, including 144,000 in Cook County, and another 144,000 in Indiana. The storms also disrupted air travel, canceling or delaying flights at Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway airports, along with delays in Philadelphia and New York. Earlier, severe storms in Des Moines, Iowa, killed a 54-year-old man at a homeless encampment when a tree fell during Wednesday’s weather. No other immediate deaths or injuries were reported from those storms.