Tornadoes struck parts of at least three states on Tuesday evening, killing four people and causing widespread property damage, officials said.
The hardest hit area appeared to be the town of Utica in northern Illinois, west of Chicago, where older brick buildings in the commercial district were flattened, trapping patrons inside one restaurant.
The Illinois Emergency Management Agency said four people had been killed in the Utica area. Some of the victims may have been among a number of people trapped inside the Milestone Restaurant and Lounge.
An elementary school, part of a grain elevator, dozens of houses and a number of businesses were heavily damaged in the town of 2,000, where residents said they fled to basements when warning sirens sounded the alarm minutes before the storm hit.
"A major portion of the downtown was either damaged or destroyed," LaSalle County Sheriff Tom Templeton said. Damage was also reported at Joliet, southwest of Chicago, and in several other areas including northern Indiana. More than 12,000 homes were left without power in the area.
Posted by Ron at April 20, 2004 11:58 PM