CHICAGO (AP) — Hundreds of people in a southern Illinois town were ordered to evacuate Tuesday as floodwaters crested a dam, just one dangerous result of severe weather that battered the Midwest overnight with steady rain and A tornado hits Chicago.
Hundreds of thousands were without power, and even weather forecasters had to briefly make emergency calls for help. The National Weather Service said the storms continued Monday afternoon into the night, citing reports of a tornado in Des Moines, Iowa, one in Chicago and at least four tornadoes in the Chicago area. Police responded to a call saying the power pole was broken in two. An Indiana woman died Monday night when a tree fell on a home.
Mihajlo Jevdosic, 16, of Norwich, Illinois, said: “We heard a gust of wind coming, and it picked up very quickly, and we decided – my uncle decided – They all took shelter in the basement. “When we got into the basement, we heard a loud noise and the tree fell on the house. “
The weather service's Chicago office said preliminary findings indicate an EF-1 tornado struck an area of Chicago Monday night, including the western Loop. The weather service said EF-1 tornadoes struck two other areas in suburban Chicago, Illinois. EF-0 tornadoes were reported in the Chicago suburbs of Illinois and Indiana.
A dam near Nashville, Illinois, was flooded, and first responders spread out to make sure everyone escaped safely. There were no reports of injuries in the community of 3,000 people southeast of St. Louis, but one woman reported waist-deep water in her home, Washington County Emergency Management spokesman Alex Haglund said. rescued.
Officials said there were about 300 people in the evacuation zone near the city's reservoir. Other areas of Nashville were not in imminent danger from the dam breach, but flash flooding on roads raised concerns about water rescues.
Floodwaters began to recede in Nashville Tuesday afternoon. But Haglund said evacuees won't be able to return home until Wednesday at the earliest. The good news: None of the homes appeared to have significant structural damage, Haglund said.
The office manager of Zapp's Repair in Nashville said 10 vehicles were stranded at the auto shop. A dumpster behind the store drifted down Highway 15.
“I can tell you there was 3 feet (1 meter) of water in the office,” Delsakin said. “I was planning on moving some vehicles, but I couldn't find the keys in the flood. … The owner has been there for over 30 years and has never seen water in the store.
The National Weather Service said 5 to 7 inches (12.7 to 17.8 centimeters) of rain fell in eight hours. Heavy rain is also expected. A long section of Interstate 64 is closed in the Nashville area.
The 89-year-old dam was last inspected in 2021 and is classified as a “high hazard” dam, meaning a failure could kill at least one person, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. There is no way to know the condition of the dam in online data.
Employees at suburban weather service offices had to hand over reporting duties to The Michigan Post for five minutes Monday night as a storm rolled through the Chicago area. The agency reported wind speeds of up to 75 mph (120 kph) in the area.
“We do have an area of rotation,” said meteorologist Zachary Yack, referring to the extremely rotating wall clouds. “It developed right near our offices in Romeoville, Illinois. … We went for cover. We have safe havens here.
Carol Gillette said she heard a crash “like a bomb” in Oswego, Illinois, as trees smashed through cars and homes.
“I haven't called the insurance company yet. I don't know where to start,” Gillette told WBBM-TV.
As of midday, 215,000 customers in Illinois were without power, according to PowerOutage.us, although the number was much higher a few hours earlier. Chicago's O'Hare and Midway airports reported dozens of flight cancellations Tuesday morning.
A 44-year-old woman died when a tree fell on her house in Cedar Lake, Indiana, on the southern edge of the Chicago area, the Lake County Coroner's Office said. The exact cause of death is unknown.
The Chicago Fire Department said on social media site
The storm also knocked out power to thousands of people in Ohio and Pennsylvania and caused damage to property, trees and power lines. No injuries were reported.
___
White reported from Detroit and Salter reported from O'Fallon, Missouri. Associated Press writer Theresa Crawford in Norwich, Illinois, and AP Data Editor Angeliki Castanis in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
