By HALLIE GOLDEN and KATHY McCORMACK Associated Press
Major storms whipped up tornadoes in parts of Illinois and Indiana that leveled homes, killing at least two people and injuring others, and another round of rain, hail and strong winds made its way through the region Wednesday, authorities said.
Several intense supercell thunderstorms moved across northern Illinois and northwestern Indiana on Tuesday, including one supercell responsible for at least four tornadoes, according to the National Weather Service office in Chicago.
“Please do not come here. Do not try to help right now,” Newton County Sheriff Shannon Cothran said in a video update in front of what looked to be a destroyed home in the small northwestern Indiana community of Lake Village.
People were trapped in their damaged homes and had to be rescued. Many roads were unpassable and at least 70 utility poles were knocked down, officials said at a Wednesday morning news conference.
A tornado struck a home, killing an elderly couple, Newton County Coroner Scott McCord said in a news release. Their names were not released.
Fewer than 10 people were hurt in Tuesday’s storms, Laurie Postma, a spokeswoman for the Lake Township Volunteer Fire Department, said at the news conference.
David Ferris, a paramedic in a neighboring county who lives in Lake Village, just south of the area that was hit, said he, his wife, and their dogs “rode it out in our downstairs bathtub.” They were unscathed, except for losing power. He went out to help with rescue efforts and helped people who suffered cuts, scrapes and bumps to the head.
“We had another house where a guy crawled out,” Ferris told The Associated Press in an interview. “He was having some trouble breathing because he was covered in house insulation.”
Ferris said the local Family Dollar store was destroyed, as well as a gas station across the street. He said multiple large trees were uprooted.
Survey crews were expected to determine the strength and number of tornadoes on Wednesday, the weather service said.
The storms also produced exceptionally large hail, ranging from 3 to 5 inches (7.6 to 12.7 centimeters) in diameter. One 6-inch (15.2-centimeter) diameter hailstone measured in Kankakee, Illinois, may be considered for a new state record, the weather service said.
Parts of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio were under a tornado watch Wednesday morning.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said in a post on the social platform X that he’d been briefed on the storm and tornado damage.
“Keeping in our thoughts all Illinoisans impacted by the severe weather — we’ll be here to help them recover,” he said.
A tornado struck down near the Kankakee fairgrounds, about 57 miles (92 kilometers) south of Chicago, before traveling northeast into Aroma Park, where it caused extensive damage, according to the Kankakee County Sheriff’s Office. No injuries have been reported.
“I want to remind area residents to check on their neighbors and loved ones but to avoid unnecessary travel, if at all possible,” Kankakee County Sheriff Mike Downey said in a statement.
In video shared on social media, the twister is seen ripping across a field of farmland near an airport while vehicles lined the road.
More than 2 million Americans were at a moderate risk of severe weather in Illinois and Indiana. Nearly 22 million were at a slightly lesser risk in a zone that includes Chicago, Fort Worth, Texas, and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
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Associated Press journalists Sarah Brumfield in Cockeysville, Maryland, and Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City contributed to this story.