Rogers Park Residents Continue Clean-Up Efforts After Tornado Hits Neighborhood

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Throughout the day Tuesday, Chicago residents drove through Rogers Park to survey the damage after a tornado blew through the neighborhood Monday.

The tornado, only the sixth recorded tornado touchdown in Chicago in 70 years, caused extensive damage in many areas, including at Mirella Moreno’s house, as her power, water and gas were all knocked out within minutes.

“I heard a huge noise, and one of the tree branches came through a wall,” she said. “My daughter’s bed was full of glass too.”

The twister packed winds in excess of 100 miles per hour, and was rated as an EF-1 tornado by the National Weather Service.

“I’ve been in Chicago, close to 30 years, and I’ve never seen something like this,” another neighbor said.

The Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications says that a full-scale effort to clean up the neighborhood is underway, but that clean-up is going to take a while on multiple fronts. According to ComEd, some customers in the Chicago area may not have electricity again until Saturday, as downed power lines and blown out transformers are being reported all across the region.

“It’s gonna be hard, but I don’t want to go to a hotel,” Moreno said. “We’re gonna stay here. I prefer to stay here.”

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