Severe storms, including thunderstorms and tornadoes, hit the Midwest United States on Tuesday, resulting in the deaths of multiple people and cutting power to more than half a million in the Chicago area.
Two tornadoes touched down just outside of Chicago, the National Weather Service announced.
Gusts of wind throughout the Midwest were reported to exceed 80mph, according to NBC News, with trees falling on power lines causing the mobilization of thousands of workers to restore electricity.
Images and videos have surfaced on social media showing major flooding, widespread property destruction, innumerable collapsed trees, and even flipped cars.
All flights were halted at Chicago's two main airports, according to the Associated Press, as power outages hit Columbus, Ohio, among many other places throughout the Midwest region.
Multiple deaths, injuries reported in Indiana, Ohio
A 4-year-old child died after a tree fell on his home in Geneva Township in Indiana, Jennings County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Cody Low said.
“Contributions are probably wind and the storms that came through this county earlier today,” said the sheriff.
Local media also reported that one person died in a home explosion and fire that occurred after storms moved through Portage, Indiana.
Police said the cause of the explosion remained under investigation.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said one person died after flooding obstructed first responders from reaching the individual in Roseville.
Severe damage caused by the storms is expected to delay first responders in emergency situations, as roads are blocked by trees and flooded. “When this call came in, everything was breaking free,” Fire Chief Chris Crail said at a news conference, emphasizing the difficulty of finding a path to the location with the number of obstacles in the way.
"Even after the storms exit the state, flooding will remain a serious concern," Ohio's governor said.
Sixteen people were hospitalized after lightning struck a prison in Grafton, Ohio, according to the Ohio Department of Corrections. One individual was transported by helicopter.
Power outages throughout the region
Over a million people across Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky lost power on Tuesday night, with the majority of power outages occurring in Ohio and Indiana, according to website poweroutage.us.
“No power. It was very scary. We were down in the basement,” Javid Jenkins of Homewood, Illinois, told the AP. “We’re built for snow. We’re built for cold. We’re not built for this.”
Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said that power could be out for days, as response teams deal with "disaster-like conditions."
As of 2:00 a.m. local time, nearly 900,000 remain without power across six states.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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