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CHICAGO (AP) – Authorities and residents searched tornado-ravaged areas and assessed damage Friday after a strong line of storms barreled through communities south of Chicago, leaving several hundred thousand customers without power in Illinois and Indiana and disrupting air travel in the region.<\/p>\n
There were no immediate reports of deaths or life-threatening injuries from Thursday\u2019s storms, although several people were treated for minor injuries, officials said.<\/p>\n
Officials in Merrillville, Indiana, about 33 miles (53 kilometers) southeast of Chicago, said more than 200 buildings were damaged, including some that were destroyed. Trees and power lines were blocking streets, and part of a high school\u2019s roof was ripped offf.<\/p>\n
Multiple agencies from the region helped local first responders search and assessed damaged areas, town officials said on social media. Crews worked into the night clearing roads. The American Red Cross set up a 700-bed shelter.<\/p>\n
Marsha Smith was in her Merrillville apartment building when the tornado struck the complex, tearing roofs off three buildings, knocking down trees and breaking car windshields before heavy rain caused more damage. She and some neighbors huddled under an indoor stairwell holding hands and praying.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe louder the tornado got, the louder I started praying,\u201d said Smith, 54, a CPR instructor. \u201cI said, \u2019Oh God it\u2019s here.\u2019 I said, \u2018Lord Jesus make it pass, let it pass, let it pass over. I said, \u2019God give us the strength to make it through this.\u2019 And it just started wrecking.\u201d<\/p>\n
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. She thanked God no one was hurt. Friday morning, she surveyed her neighborhood and described it as a catastrophe.<\/p>\n
At least two other tornadoes battered communities in and around Streator, Illinois, and Hebron, Indiana, the National Weather Service reported. Photos and video posted on social media showed damage in those areas similar to that in Merrillville. The weather service said it will be surveying the damage over the next several days to determine how many tornadoes touched down in the region.<\/p>\n
In Streator, a manufacturing and farm city about 100 miles (160 kilometers) southwest of Chicago, emergency crews were also inspecting the damage. 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.<\/p>\n
Streator Mayor Tara Bedei said there were no reported deaths. \u201cWe are incredibly grateful for the safety of our residents and the quick action of emergency personnel,\u201d she said in a statement. Officials said four people were treated at a hospital for minor injuries.<\/p>\n
First responders also worked through the night in Hebron, a small town about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of Chicago, officials said in a Facebook post. Damage assessments were underway.<\/p>\n
Jennifer Hall was in her garage in Elkhart, Indiana, as the winds and rain picked up Thursday evening. Suddenly, she said, she heard a loud crash and discovered a tree limb had gone through the roof of her rental home. She used buckets to catch the rain coming in from the hole.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just nervous because it\u2019s just been one thing after another,\u201d said Hall, explaining she just had surgery and her husband is out of town.<\/p>\n
There were more than 200,000 power outages in Illinois and more than 120,000 in Indiana on Friday, according to poweroutage.us.<\/p>\n
The storms delayed or halted flights at airports in some cities, including Chicago, Philadelphia and New York on Thursday. Parts of the Northeast and mid-Atlantic also strained under high heat and humidity. Dozens of flights were canceled or delayed Friday at Chicago\u2019s O\u2019Hare International and Midway International airports, according to FlightAware, a flight-tracking website.<\/p>\n
The tornadoes came after severe storms swept through the Midwest on Wednesday, knocking out power, damaging buildings and canceling flights.<\/p>\n
In Des Moines, Iowa, a 54-year-old man died at a homeless encampment in a park Wednesday after being hit by a tree that \u201cbroke apart and fell during strong storms,\u201d police said in a statement. There were no immediate reports of other deaths or injuries from those storms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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