NAPERVILLE, Ill. (WLS) — Neighbors are helping neighbors clean up after the strong EF-3 tornado whipped through Naperville, Woodridge, Darien, and Burr Ridge Sunday night.Naperville police kept watch all night to make sure the area remains safe.
One house was reduced to rubble. Amazingly, though there is damage to homes on either side, those homes are still standing. That’s an example of the random nature of this storm.
EF-3 tornado touches down in DuPage County, with damage reported in Woodridge, Naperville
The grandparents in the home were sleeping upstairs when the tornado hit late Sunday night. Firefighters were able to rescue them buried under the rubble.
Amazingly, they survived. The National Weather Service says this was an EF3 tornado.
Throughout the Naperville subdivision there are numerous homes marked as uninhabitable and police remain on guard here until daylight when the cleanup will continue.
Naperville Tornado: Naperville home destroyed, leaving couple on couch covered in debris
The damage from this tornado will require a long and costly cleanup, but Naperville leaders say they’re just grateful no lives were lost.
“This has been a tragic day, certainly for Naperville and for residents of this community, but it could have been a lot worse,” Mayor Steve Chirico said. “We’re a strong community. We’ll put together and we will for sure come through this.”
Teen rescues brother, 6, as storm destroys second floor of home
Mayor Chirico also warning tornado victims to watch out for scammers and asking neighbors to keep looking out for each other.
The cleanup process in Woodridge is fully underway because the community has stepped up.
At least 100 homes were damaged and many areas are still littered with trees. Given all of the damage, it is remarkable no one was seriously hurt.
On Janes Avenue, there is so much work to be done. Twelve-month-old Violet is one of the youngest tornado survivors. She and her parents rode out the storm in a laundry room in their home with no basement.
“She was with us when our roof flew off and our windows came in,” said tornado survivor Alexis Reeder. “And I’m sorry, I’m going to start to cry. And she, and we were OK. He jumped on top of us, and we hunkered down.”
RELATED: Naperville residents share harrowing tornado storeis
With houses torn apart, a community is coming together.
Brian Rock from the Elevated Pie Co. served free pizzas in Darien, using a wood fire oven in the back of his truck…
“People are hungry,” Rock said. “No one has power. No one wants to open up their refrigerator. One gentleman said he tried to work his microwave off his generator, and it didn’t work.”
Thousands of people lost power in the area and ComEd hopes to have the lights back on Tuesday morning.
The Red Cross has opened a shelter for displaced residents at Thomas Jefferson Junior High School located at 7200 Janes Avenue in Woodridge. Anyone who needs assistance can also call the 24-hour Red Cross hotline at 1-877-591-0747.
A second tornado has been confirmed by NWS in Plainfield and rated EF-0. NWS officials said it touched tracked southeast and lifted at the Mistwood Golf Course. The Plainfield tornado winds maxed out at 85 miles per hour.
Copyright © 2021 WLS-TV. All Rights Reserved.
ncG1vNJzZmhqZGy7psPSmqmorZ6Zwamx1qippZxemLyue82erqxnmaF6tbvRp5idp12jrrGx0a%2BgpaSVYsSwu8OroJ2flWK%2Fpr%2FInZynrKNisLC606Klrp1dmLmmrc2up2aZlqmys3nSraarpV2Zrq6txp5m