High winds, flooding cause damage across Chicago, Northwest Indiana
CHICAGO (WLS) -- High winds caused damage throughout the Chicago area Saturday night.
Gusts were over 50 miles per hour in some locations.
The wind may have contributed to the partial collapse of a building on the 1700 block of Simpson Street in Evanston. Officials said the building was under construction.
"We have cordoned the area off, we have the building department structural engineer for the city coming out to investigate," said Evanston Fire Department Division Chief Dwight Hohl. "We'll get some other city departments here with some equipment so we can start clearing this up and also do an investigation."
Pieces of the building caused damage to a car that was parked on the street.
"We heard this big boom and I came out this building was collapsed," said resident Joanie Jenkins.
A piece of steel dangled from a high-rise early Sunday after high winds knocked it off an apartment building in Chicago's River North neighborhood.
The metal facade broke off the 8th floor of a building in the 300-block of West Illinois Street, where Chicago police blocked off the road at about 5 a.m. Crews removed the piece with a crane.
Illinois Street from Franklin to Orleans was closed until about noon by Chicago police, who worried that more pieces could come down.
Wind gusts were between 30 and 50 mph in the Chicago area from Saturday night into Sunday. The winds were expected to continue into the afternoon.
A street light pole came down on 14th street between Federal and South Michigan Avenue, and a traffic pole came down at LaSalle and Eugenie. Crews were busy cleaning up the mess and opening up the road to traffic.
At 61st and Champlain, a downed tree not only blocked the road, but caused minor damage to a parked car.
Dozens of power outages were also reported in the Chicago area, according to a ComEd map.
No injuries were reported.
Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.
State of emergency declared in NW Indiana, Illinois
A disaster emergency was declared for 11 counties in Indiana Sunday due to widespread flooding.
A levee broke along the Kankakee river and left homes, businesses and road inundated with feet of water.
In Aurora, Indiana, located along the Ohio River, residents experienced the worst flooding in 20 years.
Jasper County, Indiana Emergency Manager Karen Wilson said that water continues to rise and sandbags continue to be filled in Jasper County.
More than 15,000 sandbags have been filled in the county since Tuesday, Wilson said.
Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner declared a state of emergency due to flooding in Kankakee, Iroquois and Vermilion Counties on Friday.
Iroquois County officials said in a statement Sunday that floodwaters had begun to recede, but numerous road closures remained. 8 Milford homes, 24 homes in Woodland were flooded, as were 200 Watseka homes, officials said.
