A tornado that slammed Gifford, Ill., did “considerable damage,” reports said on Sunday.
Weather Underground reported at around 1:20 p.m. that the town was hit by the tornado.
As many as four people were injured but there were no reports of deaths, WCIA reported.
Champaign Co. Sherrif Dan Walsh told ABC’s WICD affiliate reportedthat at least 20 homes were destroyed.
A search and rescue is underway, and emergency workers are on the scene.
Witnesses told ABC that the tornado flattened much of Gifford, a town with around 995 people located about 10 miles north of Champaign.
The Live Storms Network YouTube channel reported that the tornado hit the downtown area.
Emergency service officials are urging people to stay out of the area due to downed power lines and ruptured gas lines. They set up a mobile command in the town.
“I urge everyone to pay attention to all weather alerts and stay home and inside if possible,” Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn said in a statement. “Driving during these severe conditions is extremely dangerous. All residents should stay off the roads until these storms and flood warnings subside.”
Overall, state officials say they have confirmed that five people died when tornadoes hit central and southern Illinois, ABC-7 reported.
Melanie Arnold of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency a person was killed in Washington when a tornado struck that central Illinois community on Sunday. She did not have any details about the victim.
Earlier in the day, the county coroner in Washington County in southern Illinois said that an elderly man and his sister died when a tornado struck their farm house in the town of New Minden, about 50 miles southeast of St. Louis.
The storm that struck New Minden and Washington was part of a series of intense thunderstorms and tornadoes that swept across the Midwest on Sunday, causing extensive damage in several Illinois communities.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
MORE:
Coal City, Illinois: Tornado Causes Mass Damage
Peoria, Illinois: Tornado Levels Entire Sections of Town
Soldier Field Evacuated Amid Tornadoes in Illinois, Tornado Warning in Chicago
