The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois • Page 1

Bears rally to beat Ravens in overtime Sports ln lnP fr 4 MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18, BL00MINGT0N-N0RMAL CENTRAL ILLINOIS STORMS WIPED OUT: Multiple tornados strike in Central Illinois, leaving 5 dead, several Washington neighborhoods leveled WORK TO DO: National Guard dispatched to assist with search, cleanup; communications down in many communities v5r i '1 'M-4 'ill' 2013 By Don Babwin and David Mercer ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON Dozens of tornadoes and intense thunderstorms swept across the Midwest on Sunday, causing extensive damage in several Central Illinois communities, killing at least five people, injuring dozens more and prompting officials at Chicago's Soldier Field to evacuate the stands and delay the Bears game. "The whole neighborhood's gone. The wall of my fireplace is all that is left of my house," said Michael Perdun, speaking by cellphone from the hard -hit town of Washington, where he said his neighborhood was wiped out in a matter of seconds. "I stepped outside and I heard it corning. My daughter was already in the basement, so I ran downstairs and grabbed her, crouched in the laundry room and all of a sudden I could see daylight up the stairway and my house was An elderly man and his sister were killed when a tornado hit their home around noon in the rural Storm timeline Washington homeowners and friends try to salvage items from homes along Devonshire Road on, the north side of Washington after a tornado leveled at least 50 followed the tornado are causing danger as homeowners and emergency workers try to search homes.

WWW.PANTAGRAPH.COM ThePantagraphSTEVESMEDLEY homes Sunday. High winds that How to help Organizations I American Red Cross: www.archeartland.org donate-now or mail checks to American Red Cross of the Heartland, One Westport Court, Bloomington. IL 61704; call800-REDCR0SSor (309)662-0500. ft The Salvation Army: Mail checks to The Salvation Army, 611 W.Washington Bloomington, IL 61701. Pass it on ft This list also appears at www.pantagraph.

com. Let us know if you plan to hold a public fundraiser by emailing newsroompantagraph or calling 309-820-3241. Dustin Pierce said the tornado cut a path from one end of town to the other, knocking down power lines, uprooting trees and ruptur -ing gas lines. "I went over there immediately after the tornado, walking through the neighborhoods, and I couldn't SEE FLATTENED PAGE A2 11:57 a.m.: 2.75-inch hail reported, west Normal Pantagraph graphic 1 A ".11 lf'- I Aimee Royer holds a dog she Royer and her friend, Kendra On the Web Online extras -To see video and more pictures from the devastation in Washington, log on to: www.pantagraph.com community of New Min-den, said coroner Mark Styninger. A third person died in Washington, while two others perished in ThePantagraphSTEVESMEDLEY rescued from debris after the tornado Sunday in Washington.

Gray, right, said their home was spared. Massac county in the far southern part of the state, said Patti Thompson of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency. She did not provide details. By mid -afternoon, with communications difficult and many roads impassable, it remained unclear how many people were killed or hurt by the string of unusually strong late- season tornadoes. In a news release, the Illinois National Guard said it had dispatched 10 firefighters and three vehicles to Washington to assist with immediate search and recovery operations.

Several blocks of houses had been erased from the landscape in the rural community of 16,000, where Illinois State Police Trooper B-N battered Bloomington and Normal are digging out from downed trees and ripped power lines but missed the devastation that ripped through the community of Washington, authorities said. The storm arrived in B-N shortly after 12:30 p.m. Sunday and was accompanied by large hail, wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour and more than an inch of rain that flooded streets. About two dozen apartment residents were displaced, and thousands were without power late Sunday. Local, A3 FIND Abby Classified Comics B6 Crossword B9 Horoscope Obituaries A6 Scoreboard B5 TV Listings BIO Weather A7 $1.00 Bloomington, III.

Copyright 2013 jj The Pantagraph 2 sections, 24 pages Vol.167, Issue 322 The following abbreviated timeline is taken from National Weather Service observer reports. For a full timeline of events, visit www.pantagraph.com. 10:55 a.m.: Brief tornado touchdown near intersection of routes 29 and 98, a.m.: Tornado strikes Washington, killing at least and damaging or destroying numerous homes 3 miles north of Pekin 11:05 11 a.m.: Tornado hits East Peoria; homes damaged, power lines down one a.m.: Semi blown over on 1-155 Hartsburg 11:10 a.m.: 1-inch hail, 1 mile west of Metamora 11:11 a.m.: Large tornado 4 miles south of Metamora 1-474 11:17 near 11:32 a.m.: Tornado levels cell tower, 2 miles east of Metamora 1104 a.m.: Tornado 3 miles northwest 11:26 a.m.: 1-inch hail reported in McLean west-northwest of Morton; roof 11:28 of of Morton, intersection of 1-74, 10:59 a.m.: 58mph thunderstorm wind gust, 3 miles southwest of Peoria a.m.: 1-inch hail, 70 mph wind gust, 2 miles northwest Armington 11:03 a.m.: Tornado touches down 3 miles damaged at WEEK-TV station.