Neighborhoods Leveled By Midwest Tornadoes

04:03

November 18, 2013

A young boy takes a break from helping comb the rubble of Curt Zehr's home just outside Washington, Ill., on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2013. (David Mercer/AP)

The Illinois National Guard is assisting in search and recovery operations in the community of Washington, where neighborhoods were flattened by a tornado that cut a path about an eighth of a mile wide, from one side of town to the other.

An unusually powerful late-season storm system brought damaging winds and tornadoes to 12 states yesterday, from Missouri to western New York. Illinois was hit hardest, with at least six people killed and dozens more injured. Another storm-related death is reported in Michigan.

Here & Now's Jeremy Hobson gets the latest from reporter Laura Nightengale of the Peoria Journal Star, who was in Washington during the storm.

We also hear a report from WILL's Sean Powers on the damage in the communities of Urbana and Gifford, and check in with meteorologist Ed Kieser.

Guests

Laura Nightengale, reporter for the Journal Star newspaper in Peoria, Ill. She tweets @lauranight.
Ed Kieser, meteorologist in Illinois and visiting lecturer at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Reporter

Sean Powers, reporter for Illinois Public Media in Urbana. He tweets @SeanCPow.

This segment aired on November 18, 2013.