The US Mid-West and Great Lakes region have been battered by severe storms. A tornado hit Coal City, some 60 miles (97km) southwest of Chicago, injuring seven people, while five people had to be rescued in the state of Michigan.
At least seven states were hit in all by the thunderstorms, with
numerous houses damaged and trees uprooted. Videos captured of
the hurricane-like conditions showed an almost apocalyptic
scenario, with debris littering the roads.
One of the worst-affected areas was Coal City, southeast of
Chicago. A tornado affected the area, while there were at least
two injuries according to local authorities, with one person
taken to hospital.
“We are early in the process of determining the level of
damage,” Emergency Management director Joe Schroeder told
WGN-TV early on Tuesday morning, according to AP. He added that
at least 30 buildings were affected, many of them in residential
areas, while a shelter was opened at a local high school.
Coal City is one of the communities hit hardest by severe
weather. @UnruhJulie on the scene
http://t.co/XRuCltcxKR
pic.twitter.com/F57L6Z3ocL
— WGN TV News (@WGNNews) June 23,
2015
Brittany Halliday, the daughter of the Coal City’s Mayor Terry
Halliday told a local newspaper that homes had been damaged,
while the storm had caused havoc in the area.
“There are some houses that are no longer there,” she
said. “There are [boat] trailers all over the place. It’s
just a mess,” Reuters reported.
Incredible lightning from the tornado warned storm this
evening! Finally! #onstorm
#onwx
pic.twitter.com/K6ssRel7Ty
— Laura Duchesne (@LauraDuchesne) June
23, 2015
There were also reports of damage in the village of Sublette,
some 70 miles west of Coal City, weather officials said. The
Chicago Tribune reported that Sublette fire officials confirmed
five people had been hurt, including one with serious injuries.
Unsurprisingly, power lines in the area were damaged, with the
utility company Commonwealth Edison Co. saying that at least
19,000 customers were without electricity.
New #tornado
watch until 3am EDT for parts of south Michigan, north Indiana,
east Illinois and northwest Ohio. pic.twitter.com/lG3OOfn0xV
— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) June
23, 2015
Meanwhile, five people had to be rescued from damaged buildings
in the state of Michigan, after parts of the state were lashed by
the savage storm. A tornado, with winds of up to 100mph affected
the town of Portland, not far from the state capital, Lansing.
“We had people trapped in some of the buildings. They have
been removed and are fine,” Portland Fire Chief John Baker
said, as cited by AP. He mentioned there may have been some minor
injuries to residents, but no one has been hospitalized.
Elsewhere in Michigan, the city of Grand Rapids was affected by
flooding.
The hazardous conditions brought chaos to the local
transportation networks. The Chicago Department of Aviation
reported that more than 500 flights had to be canceled, with the
city’s O’Hare and Midway Airports affected.
#ItsAmazingOutThere
RT @barrybutler9
Mammatus Clouds over Chicago’s North Side #storm
#weather
pic.twitter.com/EU5Wtgtpg7
— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) June
23, 2015
Numerous highways across a number of states were also closed to
traffic.
However, according to a weather expert, such storms are not
uncommon in these parts of the US during the early summer months.
“May through July is the peak for thunderstorm clusters with
widespread damaging winds several hundreds of miles long, known
as derechoes,” said meteorologist Jon Erdman of weather.com.