Devastating Tornado Leaves Path of Destruction

The storm system that swept across the Midwest on Sunday night left 8 people dead and thousands of people homeless.  The storm claimed 6 lives in Illinois and 2 in Michigan.  According to the Chicago Tribune, 81 tornadoes were sighted throughout the Midwest and many areas saw large amounts of hail. Washington, IL, one of the hardest hit areas by the storm, estimates that up to 500 homes were damaged in its community.  Many towns throughout the region saw similar damage.  Currently 7 counties in the state of Illinois are being considered disaster areas. 

Images of the storm devastation show countless instances of homes being completely ripped away from their foundations.  Nothing was left standing in many of the hardest hit areas as trees were uprooted and power lines were torn from the ground.  In the United States, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and the Dakotas are usually referred to as “Tornado Alley.”  However, Illinois and Indiana see as many if not more tornadoes in a given year than the traditional states that make up “Tornado Alley”, according to the Weather Channel.  As a result, many people in the region are familiar with proper safety measures to take for Tornado storm systems. The majority of the storm survivors sought out safety in underground tornado bunkers or basements once warning sirens began. Many of the storm survivors are beginning to clean up the damage and are grateful to have survived the storm.