A tornado outbreak in the state of Illinois on Sunday left at least five people injured and a dozen homes damaged.
Officials for the National Weather Service on Twitter said that on Sunday, at around 11 p.m., a tornado touched down near the suburban area of Woodridge. The storm traveled east and ended after 1 a.m.
[11:11 PM CDT] Confirmed tornado (via tornado debris signature) near route 53/75th street in Woodridge. If you're in the path of this storm, take cover now! #ilwx
Powerful Tornado
The storm left five people injured, with one currently in critical condition while four others sustained minor injuries. The residents have since been taken to the hospital, Naperville City Director of Communication Linda LaCloche said, according to NBC News.
Naperville authorities also received over 125 reports of property damage. At least a dozen homes sustained extensive damages from the storm outbreak. Some reportedly suffered torn roofs and broken windows, while others reported downed power lines and gas leaks.
Trees have also been knocked over by the storm, Naperville Fire Chief Mark Pucknaitis told the publication.
The officer estimated that at least 20 people have been displaced because of the storm outbreak.
Fire and rescue teams are scheduled to canvass the tornado's path to assess whether it caused any further damages or injuries.
Alabama Storm Car Crash
In Alabama, a deadly storm known as Tropical Storm Claudette hammered the Southeastern state on Saturday morning. The storm dumped heavy rain across Alabama after coming ashore from Louisiana early that morning.
Tropical Storm Claudette led to the death of 10 people, including nine children and one adult, in a pile-up involving multiple vehicles on Interstate 65 in Butler County.
According to the Alabama Sheriffs Youth Ranches, eight of the children killed in the accident, with ages ranging from 4 to 17, came from the Tallapoosa County Girls Ranch, which provides a home for neglected and abused school-age children.
Children who are taken to the ranch participate in daily family devotions, attend church and schools in their local communities and take part in extracurricular activities to provide them with stability, according to their website.
Officials for the Butler County office also reported the death of a 29-year-old father and his 9-month-old daughter during the pile-up. The two victims were in another vehicle during the incident.
According to the account of a CNN producer named Lacey Willis, the weather had been bad an hour before the deadly crash. She noted that while it wasn't raining during the wreck, the roads had been covered in water.
Willis had been sitting in the backseat of her car with her 6-month-old daughter. Their car hit a guard rail and set off the airbags. Willis, her daughter, and her husband had exited their vehicle when they noticed that other vehicles in the pile-up had caught on fire.
"I'm barefoot, standing on I-65, walking, walking far enough away," she said. "I was just praying."
Willis said rescue personnel were able to pull the driver of the bus of the Girls Ranch. However, they were not able to reach the children in time.
In another vehicle, rescue personnel had pronounced the 29-year-old father had died at the scene. The 9-month-old child was rushed to the Regional Medical Center where she later succumbed to her injuries.
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