Two people were killed and several others were injured after severe storms produced at least four possible tornadoes and potentially record-setting hail in Illinois and Indiana, officials said.
The deaths occurred in Lake Village, Indiana, but further information was not immediately available.
“It hit us hard,” Lori Postma, a spokesperson for Indiana’s Lake Township Fire Department, said at a press conference Wednesday morning. “We will be working feverishly to bring our little town back to where it once was.”
One supercell resulted in at least four tornadoes across Livingston and Kankakee counties in Illinois, and Newton, Jasper, and Starke counties in northwestern Indiana, the National Weather Service said.
The same storm system that was responsible for the tornadoes also produced exceptionally large and potentially record setting hail.
In Kankakee, hail between three to five inches of diameter fell, with one hailstone measuring at six inches and possibly setting an Illinois state record for the largest hailstone, according to the weather service.
Another supercell produced two to four inches of hail across the southern and western Chicago metro area, officials said. A hailstone measuring 4.8 inches in diameter was found in Darien, Illinois.
Around 7 p.m. Tuesday, a large tornado touched down in Newton County, Indiana and caused damage to several homes, Indiana officials said.
The Lake Township, Ind. Fire Department, along with several other agencies, were out until about 4 a.m. Wednesday conducting primary searches of all damaged areas, officials said.
About 12,000 Northern Indiana Public Service Company customers were impacted by the storms, which caused severe damage to parts of Newton County, Indiana’s electrical system, where there were at least 70 damaged electrical poles and “hundreds of locations with downed wire,” according to NIPSCO spokesperson Jessica Cantarelli.
Four Lake Township firefighters suffered damage to their homes, with one of the homes requiring demolition, Postma said.
Abbey Rossiter, a Newton County commissioner, highlighted the importance of prioritizing support for those impacted by the storms.
“Many of those [impacted] have suffered unimaginable loss and devastation,” Rossiter said.
The North Newton School Corporation were working with the Red Cross to set up North Newton Jr./Sr. High School in Morroco as a temporary shelter.
The weather service will be sending survey teams to asses the storm damage Wednesday.
“We are a very strong community and we will be just fine,” Postma said of Lake Village.