Clean-up continues after devastating storms hit Villages of Hodgkins, Indian Head Park

CHICAGO (CBS) --  After storms ripped through the Chicago area, seven confirmed tornado touchdowns and residents spent Thursday drying out and cleaning up.

CBS 2's Shardaa Gray reports from Indian Head Park where there's significant storm damage. 

Wednesday night's storms left a trail of damage in the southwest suburbs and Indian Head Park was one of them.

Driving through the area, you'll find townhouses in shambles. Indian Head Park residents are in the thick of the cleanup, after strong storms knocked down powerlines, uprooted trees, and tore off roofs from townhomes and houses.

Barbara Madaio was at her 92-year-old mother's house near 72nd and Wolf Road when the storms came through.

"We were watching TV, by the front window, and I said 'Let's go to our safe spot' which is her bathroom. It's a windowless bathroom," Madaio said. 

And before she knew it...

"Walls were shaking. Doors were shaking. And I heard this loud wind that I thought the roof came off. It turned out to be a front porch. It blew away."

But as soon as she stepped outside, she saw their roof was gone and trees split in half.

"Today was kind of devastating. Because the trees and my grandkids play here on the playset. And my mom had these trees for years and that was hard."

Another hard sight to see was in Hodgkins, where the plaza near La Grange and Joliet Road was also hit hard.

Cell phone video from a viewer shows what appears to be a tornado forming.  Alexis Tucker works for the Village of Hodgkins Emergency Service Disaster Agency.

She was on patrol at the shopping center when she saw the roof fly off Target.

"As I'm driving, I can see the clouds circulating and moving really fast. I can see debris building up. And I don't think I've ever driven so fast in my life," Tucker said.

Tucker was driving to open the storm shelter for residents. No one was injured in both Hodgkins and Indian Head Park.

In nearby McCook, a tornado wreaked havoc on local businesses. Around a dozen of them sustained extensive damage, according to the local fire department.

"Everybody's petty shook up right now," Brian Patel, who owns the Skyline Motel, which was one of those businesses as the strong winds ripped through the roof.

At least 12 of the rooms were destroyed, Patel said. He added that it will take around $2 million to rebuild.

"It's pretty sad," he said. "It's been a family business for 30 years. To see it get destroyed like this is, it's been pretty hard today."

The Village of McCook declared a disaster proclamation through September due to the widespread power outage and damage to people's homes.

As residents were rebuilding, the Better Business Bureau was asking everyone to be careful with those posing as contractors looking to scam people who were affected by the storms.

They recommend doing your research and working with your insurance company on repairs.

In:
• Storm Damage