Chicago residents take shelter after tornado touches down

Oumou Fofana
·2 min read
Chicago Tornado
Chicago Tornado

A tornado warning was issued for the Chicago area Wednesday (July 12) evening.

The National Weather Service confirmed that the twister landed near O’Hare International Airport, advising residents to seek shelter, as it moved east toward downtown. “To repeat, a tornado is on the ground,” the agency wrote in an advisory at 7:03 p.m. “TAKE COVER NOW! Move to a basement or an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building.”

The Weather Service said it does not have an estimate of how many tornadoes occurred, but will determine the official count along with damage ratings as it completes surveys in the next few days. People were warned that mobile homes could be destroyed. Trees were knocked over and a roof was ripped off a home in Countryside, a suburb near Midway, southwest of the city, CBS News Chicago reported. There are no reports of injuries or deaths.

According to Chicago Sun-Times, the warnings were lifted by 7:45 p.m., although the residents were still advised to stay sheltered and monitor weather reports for the rest of the night. Flights at O’Hare International Airport even resumed with ongoing departure delays.

According to the NWS’ official website, there were 92 significant tornadoes in the eight-county Chicago metro area between 1855 and 2008. The deadliest one was an F4 disaster, which took place on April 21, 1967 during an outbreak of five significant tornadoes. It started in Palos Hills in Cook County and traveled toward Oak Lawn and the south side of Chicago. About 33 people were confirmed dead and nearly 500 people were injured, with about $50 million in damage caused. The most recent one happened over Will and Cook Counties on June 7, 2008.

 

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