in fairdale illinois. killing at one person leaving derch devastation in its wake in fairdale illinois. one of the hardest hit areas a small community of just about 200 residents. not one structure escaped the twister's reach with all 50 buildings in the town virtually flattened. nearby rachelle a dozen trapped in the basement of a restaurant more than an hour as the powerful tornado twirled them. a tractor trailer flipping over. tossed to its side because of the tornado, and the winds around it. as you just heard from officials, officials are still assessing the damage and searching for survivors in all of those areas. nbc's kevin tibbles is in fairdale for us. kevin, how's it looking there? >> reporter: welfarelwell fairdale is a town you just referenced. you're right. not a building left untouched by the twister. this is the town where the 67-year-old woman lost her life. they are still combing through the wreckage as they have just said at the press conference here. trying to find out, trying to make s

this is fairdale from above. you can see the path the twister took. and we have team coverage this evening. ginger zee with the new storm track. but we begin with gio benitez in rochelle, illinois. gio? >> reporter: good evening to you. here in rochelle, illinois, take a look. home after home completely destroyed. there were 15 tornadoes reported yesterday, almost all of them in illinois. from the air, the footprints of the monster storms. swirls where they came through. from the ground, those images of what residents saw. tornadoes tearing through the town. the heaviest of vehicles not standing a chance. >> go! go! >> reporter: the remarkable 50-mile storm path ravaging illinois. longer than the distance between baltimore and washington, d.c. a dozen people inside a restaurant, rushing to the basement, trapped as the storm went right for them. including this man and his wife. >> when it hit, we knew it hit. we didn't know how bad. >> reporter: this is how bad, incredibly, all 12 survived. this same storm system sending a school bus full of children i

what about fairdale and other -- >> from what i understand in fairdale there were limited sirens however there's been significant notice of this event. we've been receiving information about this storm system since last tuesday, several days ago. we were communicating that information to the public via press releases as well as to emergency management partners as early as wednesday of this week. there was a lot of notice before this came in with radio alerts tv alerts as well as national weather service alerts going to the wireless phones. there was a lot of information, a lot of alert in advance of the storm. >> did the sirens go off in fairdale. >> from what i understand those are outdoor warning sirens but there were a number of notices sent by the national weather service to mobile devices as well as tv and radio. and weather radios were activated as well. >> i can echo the same for our county as well. the area you're here right now, there are no warning sirens no warning sirens in any of the area affected here. what that tells me is we had enough prewarning that there were other peo

fairdale does not have a siren system. a 67-year-old woman was killed when her home was destroyed. emergency crews are looking for anyone who might be trapped in the rubble. >> we have a couple of people that we know are not accounted for. we are working with the fire department on that. >> reporter: the tornadoes were part of a powerful line of severe weather that rumbled across the midwest thursday. more than a dozen tornadoes were reported. adriana diaz, cbs news, fairdale, illinois. >> officials are using a local high school as a shelter. >>> police say it was an accident the family of four plunged into the water by the port of los angeles yesterday. the father says he accidentally hit the gas instead of the brake. both parents managed to escape but the kids had to be rescued. the older son died in the hospital. and the 8-year-old is in critical condition. >>> expect a bit of a traffic headache around san francisco's van ness avenue over the weekend. a stretch of the road shut down last night between post street and geary. crews will be working on building a pedestrian tunnel f

. >>> people in fairdale illinois are picking up the pieces after a large tornado ripped apart their small town, but there are not a lot of useful pieces left to pick up. >> reporter: fairdale was never more than a small dot on a map. now it is less than that. about 70 buildings were destroyed or damaged here on thursday. power remains out for most of the 150 residents and the cleanup is just beginning. 36 hours after the twister hit, bright sunshine illuminated the scope of the disaster. >> a long road ahead of us. >> reporter: tj rigs lost his business and the apartment right above it. >> my first reaction, i can't say on tv. but my second reaction is everything is gone. i don't know what to do. >> reporter: the twister was half a mile wide with a trail that ran nearly 30 miles long. two people died and 22 were injured as the storm tore through northern illinois. today, along with utility crews, fairdale's neighbors are picking through the debris and that is all it really is. two counties that suffered the brunt of the storm have been aptly designated disaster areas by the governor

one of the hardest hit areas is fairdale, illinois.hat's where maria joins us live with a look at all the destruction there. maria. >> hi@d5= orning. i'm here in fairdale, illinois, which is a town about 70 miles to the west of the city of chicago. and these storms pour through this area during the afternoon hours yesterday and here in fairdale, unfortunately, there was one person that was killed and seven others that were injured. and every single home in this town was either completely destroyed by the tornado or severely damaged. and you can see behind me we have a lot of debris a lot of rubble and even a truck and other cars that have been severely damaged by this tornado. we're going to continue to survey the damage as the sun does raise later this morning and we continue to get an idea of how badly the damage is here. crews will continue to search the debris today but the concern now is that behind this massive storm system that ripped through this area, we have cold temperatures that have moved in. this Ñmorning we have those cu

it's in the tiny town of fairdale. every building is damaged.ther victims. we'll stay on top of this breaking story throughout the morning. >>> a consumer alert now. possible listeria contamination led to the recall of a popular brand of hummus. you eat this stuff, hummus? >> i love this stuff. this brand in particular. >> 360,000 tubs of this, is that sabra? >> i thought it was sabra. >> sorry, i don't eat the stuff. sabra hummus recalled. listeria is a food-borne illness, it can cause high fevers and nausea. find more at abcnews.com. >> big recall, very big recall. i think i have some in my fridge right now actually. i think i'll check it. >> please check the website. we want you to be okay. >> i know you do. something else you want to watch out for when it comes to getting a good night's sleep. >> this increasingly digital world forcing us to stare at illuminated screens is confusing our body clocks a little bit. doctors say a solution could be as simple as orange-tinted glasses. abc's be brandi hitt has more. >> reporter: for the millions of

one storm killed two people in fairdale, illinois.so far the storm has been rated ef4, meaning it could have had winds up to 200 miles per hour. >>> in pakistan, an act of targeted killing. that's what police officials are calling an attack on a construction site that happened early saturday. they say armed militants opened fire and killed at least 20 people who are working on a bridge. happened in the southwestern province. the militants sped off after the attack. there have been no immediate claims of responsibility for this attack. >>> on to the fighting in yemen. thousands of houthi sympathizers marched the streets of the capital of sanaa showing support for the rebels. saudi warplanes continued ache strike on sanaa's airport and headquarters on friday. saudi forces are also expected to get more intelligence from the united states to learn crucial targets. >>> meanwhile, unicef delivered a 16-ton shipment of medical supplies for those caught up in the chaos. officials say getting aid on the ground has been nearly impossible with t

and you can see why, every single building in fairdale has some sort of damage. some have damage of every sort. it's not known when residents can go back into their homes to collect their belongings. >> the severe storms are moving out of the area and moving into the south and east. let's get a full forecast now from accuweather's justin povick. hello, justin. >> t.j. and reena, thanks. and good morning. a very active morning and active afternoon throughout the ohio valley and the middle atlantic states. damaging thunderstorms capable of high winds and large hail. slight chance for a tornado. nothing like what we saw yesterday for the remainder of the northeast. new england looking at soaking showers with travel delays. more dangerous thunderstorms off to the south throughout the carolinas and right in the gulf coast states, the threat is the same, damaging winds and large hail. reena and t.j., back to you. >> thanks, justin. stay with abc news for the latest on today's severe weather and recovery efforts in illinois. more later in this half hour and, of course,

this is the fairdale area.s in the town and they're saying almost none of them exist anymore. you can see the pictures there. this small town community surrounded by farms with a main street. this is all that's left of it. there's hardly anything. our heart goes out to these people. this is horrible enough. we are fortunate as i mentioned with the storm that was this big on the ground this long that it didn't go through any major cities and kill dozens of people. when daylight comes up we'll get a better assessment from the air and get a better view of all these storms. in all in our severe weather outbreak yesterday, about 300 severe weather reports. a lot of wind damage reports and we're not completely done yet. we're done with the big chance of any tornadoes but we have wind damage problems to deal with especially in eastern sections of tennessee and eastern kentucky. a little later this afternoon, we'll still see severe weather. a slight risk of severe storms. there's a low chance of a tornado today but we'

and this is fairdale illinois from above. you can see the path the twister took. and we have team coverage this evening. ginger zee with the storm track. but we begin with gio benitez in rochelle illinois. >> reporter: there were 15 tornadoes reported yesterday, almost all of them in illinois. from the ground, those images of what residents saw. tornadoes tearing through the town. the heaviest of vehicles not standing a chance. the 50-mile storm path ravaging illinois. a dozen people inside a restaurant rushing to the basement trapped as the storm went right through them. this is how bad, incredibly all 12 survived. this same storm system sending a school bus hydroplaning two days ago. back in rochelle the cleanup beginning. how long do you think it will take to repair this? >> years. there was generations put into building this and it was taken away in 30 seconds. >> reporter: 28 million americans at risk for strong to severe storms tonight. >>> and we want to get straight to alex perez, with a stunning portrait of the destruction. alex? reporter: david, we saw t

. >> reporter: fairdale, illinois, was never much more than a small dot on the map and now it's less than that. about 70 buildings were either destroyed or damaged here on thursday. power remains out for most of the 150 residents, and the cleanup is just beginning. 36 hours after the twister hit bright sunshine illuminated the scope of the disaster. >> a long road ahead of us. >> reporter: t.j. riggs lost his business and the apartment where he lived right above it. >> my first reaction i can't say on tv but my second reaction was, you know, everything's gone. i don't know what to do. >> reporter: the twister that hit fairdale was half a mile wide with a trail that ran nearly 30 miles long. two people died and 22 were injured as the storm tore through northern illinois. today, along with utility crews, fairdale's neighbors are picking through the debris, and that's all it really is. two counties that suffered the brunt of the storm have been aptly designated disaster areas by the governor. soon the people of fairdale will have to decide whether to rebuild where the tornado's footprin

fairdale, illinois is a tiny community only about 150 people live here.s only a quarter square mile. a disaster like this affects everybody here. >> do you need -- honestly, do you need some? >> reporter: not far away people come from all over to help other other people who suffered damage to their house and barn. >> if somebody's in need, somebody is there to help out. that's the great thing about farm communities. >> reporter: they say they hadn't insured their barn and they take it in slight. >> it's the statue that's supposed to protect the home. >> reporter: taken in stride because they were not hurt. gary tuchman, cnn, fairdale, illinois. >>> incredible, the national weather service has surveyed the damage there. standing by in the weather center with more. incredible video, that branch going right through the home. >> yeah, with tornadoes of this severity, paula, they can actually lift vehicles, place them in trees. they can put straw and take it right through the trunk of a tree. it's happened before. beale probably see it again. this is the enhan

l illinois last night, devastated the tiny towns of fairdale and rochelle. a 67-year-old woman was killed in her home and several others are still unaccounted for in a town about 80 miles west of chicago. they say fairdale looks like a bomb went off. >> we are trying to track down all of the members of the community that have left the area. some of them we already know and many of them we don't know where they went to but we know that many people left during the immediate aftermath. >> storm chasers captured video of a massive tornado as it ripped through rochelle. even recorded the moment the twister crossed the highway right in front of them. >> oh, my god. this is violent. you guys it is right there. right there. >> we're good oh, my gosh. >> there goes cars. i saw headlights go flying. >> you need to stop. >> no, keep going. >> we will go slow. >> my god, we need to see if everybody is all right. we need to go. >> this video shows strong winds taking on a tractor-trailer, sending it tumbling to its side. here is what you're driver said he witnessed while

everyone has been evacuated from fairdale.ll continue searching the debris today and another concern now is that behind this storm we have cold temperatures. so that's something that crews are going to have to battle with and also blustery winds. temperatures this morning out here were in the 30s and 40s. it was very cold. and later this afternoon we continue to see that risk for more severe storms across parts of texas, parts of the gulf coast and even up into the mid-atlantic. you do have a risk for damaging winds and large hail from some of those storms that will develop. a tornado risk is slightly lower today than it was yesterday. but that risk is still in place. so, please, take those warnings very seriously. they do get issued for your area later this afternoon and evening. back to new york. >> all right, maria molina live in fairdale, ohio where the tornado apantly was half a mile wide and the town was in the way and almost everything is gone. >> devastating to see that wreckage there. >>> we're going to turn now, ther

cnn's ed lavendera joins me from fairdale.ng time to rebuild these communities. >> reporter: it sure is. the sun is shining today but the wind still very fierce. but the stories of survival incredibly dramatic including three adults and three children that were inside these two cars when the tornado struck the town of fairdale. with terrifying ferociousness, tornadoes ripped through small towns west of chicago. residents in the storm's path looked on in fear. >> i'm scared to death of storms so i was watching everything. >> i feel like it's a bad dream, something i would be watching on the news somewhere else, not in my neighborhood. >> reporter: one tornado cut a 22-mile path through this illinois flatland. the town of fairdale is a small dot on the map, but a tornado tore right through it. the town does not have tornado sirens. two elderly women were killed here and dozens of homes destroyed. those that survived like andy kettleson know how lucky they are. >> everything seemed like it happened in two seconds. >> reporter: he

this is a rural area a small town of fairdale appears to be hardest hit.a number of injuries. this town of fairdale only 150 people live there according to our alex perez on the scene for us. the twister cut a path of destruction 50 miles long and a half mile wide. we will never get too far away from this breaking story here on "world news now." >>> california's largest power utility has been ordered to pay a record $1.6 billion fine for deadly blast. the 2010 explosion destroyed a san bruno neighborhood, near san francisco. it killed eight people and injured nearly 60 others. in levying the fine regulators noted a continued pattern of safety problems at pacific gas and electric. >> i lost my family my son my husband, my mother-in-law, my dog. and my home. >> reporter: a spokesman for pg and e said the company does not plan an appeal. 850 million will go to future improvements of gas transmission lines. another 400 million will go back to customers. >>> trn to a los angeles courtroom where bail is set at $2 million for sandra bullock's accused stalker who

the tight-knit communities of fairdale and row sell are helping victims sort through the rubble. one tornado tracked a 25-mile continuous path from near row velocity -- roshrochelle through bell azero. this was a popular restaurant in the town of rochelle. 12 people including diners and staff were inside the grubstakers restaurant when the tornado struck. it was a miracle. everybody made it into the basement just in time before the twister hit. they all survived though they were trapped in the basement for an hour and a half waiting for rescue crews to clear them. a few people had to be treated

one of the hardest hit areas is fairdale. tornadoes flattened buildings there and the storms left devastation in the town of rochelle. search and rescue teams are continuing to dig through the rubble. looking for any survivors. just ahead here we'll have a live report from fairdale where victims are assessing the damage this hour. now, in central north carolina one man was killed after he was struck by lightning last night. several homes and apartment buildings were struck by lightning during the storms in the area causing fires. one person was hurt during one of those fires. stay with us here at abc 7 and wjla.com. we'll track the chance of any severe weather huth us here in the d.c. region and also be sure to download our phone apps to get alerts on your mobile device at all times. alison: chaotic scene at the u.s. census bureau in suitland last night after a security guard was shot and killed. flash bangs could be heard as police officers swarmed that huge complex searching for the shooter. that accused shooter was later a

>> reporter: yeah, they don't have that in fairdale. fairdale only has a volunteer fire department. one thing that struck me when i was there, it is a very small community. it has a volunteer fire department. what struck me is they have way more volunteers now than they ever thought they would or could have had. because people from surrounding counties have all banded together to help get this little town back on its feet. the main center of rochelle really wasn't a affected by this storm. as you can see, this particular area here which is sort of at a four corners area this restaurant was very popular with truckers and travelers and the like. and there are some very lucky people today as a result of this cellar down here. >> that is the silver lining to these horrible storms. kevin tibbles, thank you so much. >>> a police chase ends with another violent incident capture on video. the consequences of this video are just now being realized. >>> and face-to-face with president obama and the leader from cuba. we have a live report from panama next. audible safety beeping audible safety

we're live from fairdale after the break. [laughter] announcer: they say that when you're facing extreme danger your life flashes before you. [bells peal, baby cries] if you think that's sad, consider facing it before you even have enough life to flash before your eyes. car crashes are a leading killer of children 1 to 13. deaths and injuries can be prevented by using the right car seat. visit safercar.gov/therightseat to know what is appropriate for each age and size. . gerri: philadelphia, washington and other parts of the atlantic coast could see dangerous weather tonight. this after storms wreaked havoc on much of the country's midsection including two tornadoes ripping through one illinois town leaving two women dead. jeff flock is in fairdale, illinois where residents are sifting through the debris. jeff? >> reporter: oh, boy, it was. up to this point, gerri, it has been a calm tornado season but it really kicked off in a big way last night. you see some of what is left of fairdale, illinois. the only thing, and i've be

back in fairdale these images tell the story. massive piles of debris everywhere.fficials say it is the worst damage they have ever seen. >> lots of challenges a lot of safety issues as well as you have a lot of debris to pull off. it is going to be a lot of happened work and work with heavy equipment. we're hopeful our search will be fruitless in the sense we that we won't find anybody. >> reporter: this was a massive storm that blew through here and it came just as night was beginning to fall. >> oh my gosh. >> reporter: a tornado ripped through fairdale illinois. officials say the twister damaged every single building in the village, destroying many of them. >> the west side of fairdale was pretty well destroyed. >> reporter: some homes simply toppled over. in nearby rochelle a close call. the twister shredded this restaurant. >> we pulled in here and ran inside and got a couple of pictures of the tornado right across the street and the owner said in the basement. >> reporter: fire officials say fortunately no one was seriously injured. the wild weather was part

you see some of what is left of fairdale, illinois. only thing, and i've been to a lot of tornado scenes over the course of 30, 35 years, it amazes me how quickly the communities come back. take a look over here. already electric company crews con ed crews putting poles back up that were sheared off, going back. in these guys are prepared and ready to go, and there's of course a lot of work to do. we have not heard from the national weather service yet just how bad this was. they go through and they take a look and survey this damage and determine how hard the wind was blowing, whether this was an ef-5, ef-4, ef 3. we don't know yet. we know now there was a lot of damage in this town. i leave you with a scene of fairdale, gerri, not a pretty scene but as you can see already trying to come back. gerri: i have to tell you those pictures of that tornado. man, oh man! i've never seen anything that big! >> reporter: huge tornado. gerri: unbelievable. >> reporter: i know. gerri: was there any warning? did they know? >> they did get a pretty

in the bullseye the tiny town of fairdale. no sirens here. seconds mean the difference between life and death. >> it's just devastating. that's all i can say. unbelievable. >> reporter: today, search teams again combed piles of wreckage. two women, one a grandmother who were neighbors and friends, discovered inside their homes. >> it was just unbelievable. >> reporter: daniel and alan chased the storm, then rushed to help the victims. >> we helped as many people as we could until the rescue got there. >> this is the house. >> reporter: 15 miles away the town of rochelle is in pieces. memories and keepsakes scattered across streets. the owner scrambled 12 people into the basement as the tornado came right at them. >> we were in the basement two to three minutes before it just demolished the building. >> reporter: for 90 minutes they were buried under debris. the landscape here permanently changed. the town before and now after. the view from above heartbreaking. what's most striking from the air aside from the devastation is the path of this t

these people who lived within fairdale a today being allowed to go back into their homes. they are going with police escort only. only those people who can prove that they are from fairdale are allowed to go in with the police escort. so they're meeting here boarding buses and then being taken down to somehow try to salvage what is left of their lives that was essentially stolen from them on thursday night when these giant twisters came through. what is also happening here is that donations are being sent in not only from the surrounding area but from around the state of illinois, other counties and across the country. the firehouse behind me is so full of provisions and clothing that they've now opened up the school down the road and they're filling that up with donated stuff as well. volunteers are coming in from across the state and elsewhere. everyone here has decided to come and try and lend a hand to the people of fairdale who have obviously reeling after these horrible storms. >> thank you so much kevin tibbles. >>> there's a new threat of severe weather as a cold f

mike bettes is in fairdale where every structure in town was hit. >> reporter: good morning to you. we know at first light this morning revealing more of the damage here in fairdale. multiple tornados touched down in northern illinois and you can see the extent of the damage here behind me. an apartment above, antique store below. they've cordoned off the town at this point. they won't lehtonen in as they resume a search and rescue this morning still searching for one. there was one fatality a woman in her 60s. as many as 11 people were treated for injuries and we know the national weather service will be on hand to determine the strength, the severity of this tornados. dramatic images of the tornados as they ripped through the towns of fairdale rochelle and more raingo. the governor has activated the emergency managers here so they'll be able to assist as well. and we also know that they'll be potentially letting folks back into their homes later on this afternoon. but a cool crisp windy morning seasonally different from what we saw yesterday. that

they talk to fox's jake hamilton about their frustrations. >> reporter: today in fairdale it was allrch. for some it wasn't the search for answers. >> why can't we get in -- >> why is it every house. all these other towns aren't safe. these people got their personal property there. this is their lives. >> for anothers it was the search for memories. >> what we need right now is a time to get in there and see what we have and if the people have things they can be preserved that we have the opportunity to help preserve them. >> reporter: the day began early with the residents of fairdale gathered in the parking lot of circumstance land community fire district. they were said to board buses at 7am to return to their homes. as the minutes ticked by many of them angered by the lack of access began to demand answers. >> why can't we drive in? >> i'm going my house. >> they got the roads cleared. >> we know where we're going. >> save fort workers. >> we know how to drive. >> with personal transportation prohibited for the moment residents began to file into buses after showing proper id. th

i'm in fairdale, illinois where a massive terrifying twister hit yesterday afternoon. to move through parts of iowa and through illinois. here in fairdale, one person has been confirmed dead and at least seven others have been injured. due to the severity of the damage here in fairdale, the rock ford illinois, fire department is helping to respond to the damage. just to give you a sense of how bad the damage is here in fairdale, every single home has either sustained damage or has and you can see behind me a structure just completely unrecognizable and that's pretty much the scene here

farther down the street other homeowners in fairdale much unluckier. devastation after old-timers say it's the most powerful tornado they've ever seen here. fairdale illinois, is a tieny community. only about 150 people live here and a quarter square mile. a disaster like this affects everybody here. >> do you need a hug? >> reporter: not far away people from all over help to come a family who suffered heavy damage at their farmhouse and barn. >> if somebody's in need, boy, everybody shows up and that's the great thing about farm communities. >> reporter: they said they were just about to insure their barn but hadn't done so. however, they take it in stride. >> this is a st. joseph's statue and it's supposed to protect the home. >> reporter: take it in stride because they were not hurt. >> gary tuchman joins us now. did people get any warnings the tornado was coming? >> reporter: well, this small town of fairdale anderson does not have a tornado siren warning system but some of the neighboring towns do so people here say they heard the sirens on the ot

the storm is blamed for one death in the town of fairdale. nbc's mike bettis shows us what it looks like there this morning. >> reporter: the day after showing a lot of light on the tornado that swept through northern illinois in the town of fairdale, a town of roughly 200 people. and every single building in town just seven square blocks was damaged. one of the more interesting things we found was this cinder block wall pushed to the west here it has been torn right off the mortar foundation here. this building, by the way, behind us an apartment up above and more of the storage units down below. most of the roof structure has been taken off. you can see right down into it. now, the city is still cordndoned off. they're still doing search and rescue, ongoing at this time. we know 11 people have been injured and treated for their injuries. one fatality here in fairdale one 65-year-old woman who perished in her home. we know the national weather service will be on hand to determine the strength of this tornado, could have been multiple tornado

two women in their late 60s were killed in fairdale, about 80 miles west of chicago. they were friends. one was found today. she'd taken refuge in it her shower and was holding her purse. more than a dozen others were injured and anna werner is in fairdale for us this evening. anna. >> reporter: scott, you can see how strong the winds still are at this hour, and the tornado that came through last night, literally tore the front off of the house behind me. and it's not just here. this is the kind of damage we saw driving a 20-mile radius all around us. the tornado's path of destruction was clear-- homes flattened, wood splibterred and piled like matchsticks as far as the eye could see in the tiny farming town of fairdale. this tractor trailer was toppled like a toy. the twister struck around dinner time-- no sirens, little warning. wow, you were right here. >> the tv was sitting there and we were watching the news. >> reporter: earl hagemeyer says he and his wife had to run for their lives after looking out a window and seeing the tornado bearing down on their house. >

one person was killed in fairdale illinois. suspected tornadoes hit iowa and ohio. in rochelle, indiana this is a photo of a restaurant before the tornado ripped through the community and this is the image after the storm obliterated the building near flattened. diane esther brook is live in illinois. >> this is a massive storm that cut across 50 miles of northern illinois and struck just as night was about to fall. a twister damaged every building in the village destroying many of them. >> the west side was pretty well destroyed. >> some homes simply top would over. in nearby rochelle, a close call. the twister shredded this restaurant, more than a dozen people trapped inside. >> we pulled in here and ran inside got a couple of pictures of the tornado right across the street here and the owner said in the basement. we went down in the basement. >> fire officials say fortunately, no one was seriously injured. the system also brought baseball sized hail and torrential rain. the wild weather was part of a line of severe storms that stretched from texas to michigan. au

the town of fairdale is a somewhat dot on the map but a tornado ripped through it. the town does not have sirens. two elderly women were killed here. those that survived, like this man, knows how lucky they are. >> everything seemed like it happened in two seconds. >> reporter: he rode the storm out while sitting in this blue ford focus. they were inside an iron work shop. he was inside the car with a co-worker who had raced over with his wife and three young kids to seek shelter. molts later the tornado made a direct hit. >> i remember looking through the windshield and seeing the roof of the shop coming up and down. next thing i know beams are falling. luckily nobody got hurt. >> reporter: he and his friend's family managed to get out of the debris p. to see this of what's left of the building around them. search and rescue teams have spent the day looking through miles of debris looking for survivors. trying to make sure everyone is accounted. for officials say that work is winding down. >> we are very confident we have covered all the areas that needed special a

there is at least one fatality and eight injured in the town of fairdale as the search continues for neighbors and loved ones. >> at this time we do have some unaccounted people. reporter: abc's alex perez was there. >> most of the 50 homes here in the small town of fairdale illinois look just like this structure. completely destroyed. reporter: in nearby rochelle illinois the sheriff continues to lead search efforts. >> around 30 homes have been either completely destroyed or uninhabitable. reporter: even as the destruction hit home. >> my house is gone. reporter: through the evening, tornadoes popping up across illinois, iowa and ohio. >> oh, my god! this is violent! you guys it's right there. right there. >> oh, my gosh! >> look at it there goes cars. i saw headlights go flying. >> my god, we need to see if anybody is all right. we need to go. reporter: amidst the destruction, the victims are trying to rebuild their lives, salvaging what they can from the debris. lona zack, abc news, new york. autria: also making headlines around the nation, president obama and cuban president rau

we knew at first light revealing more damage in fairdale.adoes potentially touching down here in northern illinois and you can see the extent of the damage behind me. an apartment above and antique store below. extensive damage here that actually cordoned off the town at this point and won't let anyone in resuming a search and rescue this morning. still potentially looking for people. one fatality a woman in her 60s as well as many treated for injuries. the national weather team will be here in town to determine the strength severity of the tornadoes. we know captured by storm chasers yesterday, dramatic images of the tornadoes ripping through the towns of fairdale and rochelle just outside of rockville and an hour outside of chicago. the governor's activated the emergency managers here assists as well and potentially letting folks back into their homes later this afternoon, but a cool crisp windy morning, certainly different from what we saw yesterday. that's the very latest here in fairdale. gayle, back to you. >> mike, we'll take it. than

two people lost their lives in fairdale. >> reporter: the governor announcing the news in fairdale, illinoissmall town two hours outside of chicago. the tornado that ripped through thursday evening all but wiped the town off the map. 15 tornadoes reported in the midwest yesterday. all of them focused on illinois and missouri and iowa. watch the force of the winds and what it does to semi. >> he's over. he's over! >> go. >> reporter: a 50-mile path of destruction. >> the roof blew off. the walls came down. the second floor fell on the first floor. i need a new house. >> reporter: residents in rochelle, illinois wondering how they can put back the pieces of their lives. since the storm hit, sheriff van hickle has been nonstop. for him the devastation has been personal. >> as all of you know, my house is gone. >> reporter: the storm is headed east and from texas to delaware there will be extreme weather warnings. in new york, lana zak, abc news. >> sad. >>> turning to our weather. we don't have a lot going on here. >> it is quiet and lovely outside. spencer christian is back with the full forec

>>> jeff flock on the ground in fairdale, illinois, where tornadoes leveled dozens of buildings. jeff is going to look at huge economic toll caused by the twister. >>> cheryl casone outside the apple store, why many were left in the cold as they clamored for the chance to win the new watch. >>> and john buckingham who bested buffett for the last ten years, what are the strategies he uses to continue the win streak and name companies right now. >>> rob hackel and rob sebastien and phil flynn monitoring the energy markets. first, is the world at war? listen to what retired u.s. navy captain chuck nash told me when i put that very question to him yesterday. >> i think the world is at war, at least the united states and the west is at war with radical islam. liz: we've now learned that just hours after that interview, iran's supreme leader issued fighting words against two of the bedrock principles of the nuclear framework and threatened saudi arabia. peter barnes live from washington. first to what the ayatollah said about the nuclear deal and how the white house is responding now.

anna warner is in fairdale, illinois, with the latest. >> reporter: every home in fairdale, illinois, is either damaged or destroyed. >> because i just remember stuff hitting, falling. i didn't know what to think. finally when it was over, the house was gone. >> reporter: two people died including a 67-year-old woman who was preparing to leave for her daughter's birthday party. >> my mother-in-law, she didn't make it downstairs. >> reporter: fairdale doesn't have a siren system. but warning alarms sound the in the nearby town of rochelle. 12 people rode out the storm in the basement of this restaurant. >> we pulled in here and ran inside, got a couple pictures of the tornado right across the street from us here and the owner said in the basement. we won't down in the basement. >> reporter: it took rescue crews 90 minutes to dig them out. the tornadoes cut swirling lines into farm fields and pulled homes from their foundations. some of the rescuers were also victims. >> we went to work and helped the other people that needed the help. i got there this morning at 5:00 to see that my hou

the latest in fairdale illinois. mike bettes for nbc news. >> thank you. >>> breaking news.un county health department, evaluateing whether anyone is at risk for a confirmed meningitis death. no evidence of an outbreak. just being cautious. no information about the victim has been released. >>> i'm tracie potts with a developing story on the 2016 presidential campaign. what a lot of people have been calming the worst kept secret in washington. question expect it out this weekend. telling nbc that hillary clinton will officially announce her candidacy for president as early as sunday. and that the announcement won't necessarily come in a big rally as we often see but that it will initially come on social media. we know she's been active on twitter. then from there we understand she's going to be heading to iowa big caucus state, first caucus state, where we've seen a lot of other candidates recently too. so the big news look ot for it on sunday. it looks like hillary clinton is making it official. barbara? >> all right, tracie. >>> another developing story going on now. a man

. >> reporter: hey, kris, this is fairdale, illinois, what is left of fairdale, illinois, after the massiveorm system moved through yesterday leaving a lot of damage. in fairdale as a matter of fact the authorities are telling us this morning that every single building in this town has been damaged in one way or another. this is the place where one woman 67-year-old woman lost her life as this storm system moved through. the size of these tornadoes was quite incredible to watch, as they moved covering about a 50-mile span through this area. all of illinois almost yesterday was under some form of tornado watch or warning, and it was later in the evening around 8:00 or 9:00 when the twisters started to touch down and as you can see from the shape of this house behind me here, it has left a lot of damage. this is a very small town and it's going to be very hard to recover from this. >> all right, thank you very much, kevin. surprising though only one person dead but several others are missing, thank you. >> the surrounding area there, you could take a look, the surrounding winds as well, a tru

that's fairdale before the tornado and then after completely turned to rubble. the ef-4 packing winds up to 200 miles an hour. destroying this home. you see part of that white fence. here's alex perez on the hundreds pitching in for the clean-up. >> reporter: tonight, new images of that killer twister the dark clouds of disaster, swirling. drivers taking cover under an overpass. we now know the ef-4 tornado carved a path of destruction more than 28 miles long thursday night. devastating rochelle illinois and nearly wiping away the small town of fairdale authorities say all 50 homes here damaged, many leveled. 2 killed, more than 20 injured. some homeowners, just now returning those who didn't lose everything left with a shell of a home. >> huge tornado. near rockford. >> reporter: these frightening images of the storm shot by will white. >> reporter: the storm chaser now helping homeowners pick up the pieces. >> when we first got here, i couldn't believe what i saw. one second everything's normal, the next second a tornado rips through and their lives are comple