Midwest Towns Face Destruction From Tornadoes

Residents in tornado-ravaged areas in Illinois and Indiana were grappling with the damage to their homes and neighborhoods on Friday, after the strong line of storms barreled through communities south of Chicago and left trails of destruction. Cleanup efforts have begun, the AP reports, and utility companies said power restoration efforts could extend into next week. Thursday's storms ripped roofs off buildings, flattened homes, brought down scores of trees and power lines, and caused hundreds of thousands of power outages and major air traffic disruptions. Officials said there were no reports of deaths or life-threatening injuries, though several people were treated for minor injuries.

Tornado damage was reported in several towns including Merrillville and Hebron in Indiana and Streator, Illinois. Authorities surveyed the damage Friday and prepared to issue emergency declarations needed to get recovery funding. Marsha Smith was in her apartment building in Merrillville, about 33 miles southeast of Chicago, when the tornado struck the complex, tearing roofs off three buildings, knocking down trees, and breaking car windshields before heavy rain caused more damage to the homes. She and neighbors huddled under an indoor stairwell holding hands and praying. "The louder the tornado got, the louder I started praying," said Smith, 54, a CPR instructor. Smith said there was an eerie calm just before the tornado struck. Then it sounded like a freight train smashing into her building, she said. No one was hurt. On Friday morning, she surveyed her neighborhood and described it as a catastrophe.

Officials in Merrillville said more than 200 buildings were damaged, including some that were destroyed. Downed trees and power lines blocked streets, and part of a high school's roof was ripped off. Crews worked into the night clearing roads. The American Red Cross set up a 700-bed shelter. In Streator, a manufacturing and farm city about 100 miles southwest of Chicago, officials said nearly a dozen homes were damaged, including some that were destroyed. A reunification center for displaced residents was set up in its city hall, and the Red Cross opened a shelter. Streator Mayor Tara Bedei said no deaths were reported.