HAZEL CREST, Ill. () — Two National Weather Service survey teams are expected to assess storm damage across the Chicago area Tuesday morning after Monday’s severe weather.
One team will focus on DuPage County, including damage reports near Downers Grove and Glen Ellyn.
Another crew will survey southern Cook County, with stops expected in Markham, Harvey, Hazel Crest and several surrounding communities.
The powerful storms caused widespread destruction throughout the south suburbs, leaving residents to confront a long cleanup.
In Hazel Crest, many neighbors said they were relieved the damage was not even more devastating as they began picking through what was left behind.
“It’s like some huge dinosaur just stomped on everything,” Hazel Crest resident Sandra Forde said. “It’s incredible.”
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“My kids were terrified, shaking, screaming, like it’s unbelievable what turned up right here,” Hazel Crest resident Aaliyah McPhearson said.
Across the village, the storm’s impact is hard to miss, with block after block covered in debris and familiar streets left nearly unrecognizable.
The storm downed trees and damaged homes and buildings, bringing with it gale force winds and driving rain.
Markham and Tinley Park suffered a similar fate.
It was much the same in Lansing where so many people’s homes were destroyed by the storms.
The dangerous weather ripped off roofs and even trapped some residents in debris.
One Lansing man said he made it out safely after a tree crashed into his home and trapped him inside.
“I heard the sound of the tree snapping and then all of a sudden my windows busted out in the back,” Deniz Sidkey said. “Then all the stuff started falling from the kitchen…I’m lucky to be alive.”
Neighbors climbed through a window to rescue him after the storm passed.
Several people suffered injuries, but officials say no one was seriously hurt.
Some south suburban officials are urging people to stay in their homes if they can – until fallen trees and downed power lines are secured and cleared.
“I grew up in this neighborhood,” Lansing Mayor Brian Hardy said. “I’ve been in Lansing almost 60 years. I’ve never seen any kind of devastation like this. It breaks my heart. But again, I’m going to have to just go back to thank the Lord that no one was seriously hurt.”
The American Red Cross is helping displaced families and police continue to patrol damaged neighborhoods as the cleanup moves into another day.
There has been extensive damage in several other communities.
In Tinley Park, the storms flattened the rooftop of the Interstate Sports Dome. The business said it is grateful no one was hurt.
On Chicago’s North Side, a large tree fell on a school bus near Keeler and the Kennedy.
The front windows of the bus were damaged. No one was hurt.
Hundreds of thousands of people lost power during the storms.
Tuesday morning, both ComEd and NIPSCO still report outages.
In Illinois, Cook, DuPage and Lake counties among the hardest hit.
