Severe Storms, Twisters Damage Homes And Injure Residents In Northern Illinois

By Rachel Cromidas in News on Jun 23, 2015 3:00PM

A summer storm that spawned tornados Monday night damaged homes and injured at least seven people in Illinois, particularly in Ottawa, Sublette and Coal City, a small community southwest of Chicago.

The National Weather Service has confirmed that twisters landed in each of those small communities outside of Chicago, and is working to confirm other reports of twisters in Grundy, LaSalle, Lee and Will counties, CBS reported. In Coal City, which was last hit by a tornado in November 2013, a firehouse and at least 30 buildings, most of them residential, were damaged by the tornado. Fallen trees and power lines blocked the roads, and Interstate 55 was shut down for hours, authorities told WBEZ.

The Quail Run subdivision appeared to bear the brunt of the damage in Coal City, according to the Tribune, with almost every home showing damage, and several homes leveled entirely.

"Streets and yards were littered with wood, nails, siding, insulation and neighbors' belongings. SUVs, trucks and even mobile homes were tossed into houses and trees," the news outlet reported. "Towering shade trees had been plucked out of the ground on nearly every block. Everything was soaked Tuesday."

Commonwealth Edison reported at least 14,000 customers were without power as a result of the storm, and Ameren was reporting 1,000 customers lost power, according to WBEZ. Some recovery efforts may need to wait until power returns to the town.

In Lee County's Sublette, a private camping resort called Woodhaven Association reported flooding and trees fallen on homes in the area, according to WBEZ. One person was hospitalized with serious but not life-threatening injuries. Michigan also saw some weather damage Monday night, with at least four homes damaged in Millington and at least five people trapped in their buildings in Portland.

As of Tuesday morning it appeared there were no fatalities from the storm. Coal City village administrator Matt Fritz told CBS that donations to recovery efforts can be sent to the Community Foundation of Grundy County at cfgrundycounty.com