Ruins of houses after a tornado hit Hautmont, northern France. Photograph: Philippe Frutier/AFP/Getty Images
Lizzy Davies in Paris
The Guardian,
Tuesday August 5 2008
The bodies of a man and a woman were pulled from the wreckage of their home yesterday, after a tornado tore through northern France, ripping off roofs, overturning cars and destroying dozens of houses.
The couple were believed to be the deputy mayor of Hautmont, which was at the epicentre of the tornado near the Belgian border, and his wife.
Earlier the body of an elderly woman was also discovered. She was thought to have died when her home collapsed on top of her. Thirteen other people were injured.
Firefighters, medics and police searched two residential streets in the area yesterday to establish whether anyone else was buried under the rubble.
High winds and torrential rain lashed the region on Sunday night as the tornado swept through an area of about four square miles in less than two hours....
Lost in the wash (click here)
Cubs just can't catch up when game is called in 8th after 2 lengthy rain delays
By Brian Hamilton Chicago Tribune reporter
August 5, 2008
The clock on top of the venerable Wrigley Field scoreboard read 8:06 p.m. Monday when tornado sirens began to wail in the darkness. Action between the Cubs and Astros had been suspended already for nearly a half-hour.Then, minutes after the sirens howled, the wind started blowing out. Like, really out. Like carry-a-ball-to-the-Michigan-shoreline out.Rain pulled a U-turn within the stadium. Debris floated along a river of standing water on the warning track behind home plate.All of it giving a new, unsettling meaning to "It's Gonna Happen."...
Storms roar through northern Illinois (click here)
Associated Press - August 5, 2008 4:53 AM ET
CHICAGO (AP) - One man caught at Chicago's Wrigley Field during last night's powerful storm says he'd "never seen anything like it."
Fans at the Cubs-Houston Astros game were evacuated from the stands as intense lightning, fierce wind and a torrential downpour battered the ballpark.
The game was called off after 8 innings -- and two weather delays.
Tornado sirens blared in downtown Chicago, and hundreds of flights were canceled at O'Hare Airport, where travelers were moved to lower levels of the terminals for safety.
In two counties west of the city, there was widespread tree and power line damage from the fast-moving storm. Trained spotters reported what may have been tornadoes.
No serious injuries have been reported.
Commonwealth Edison says more than 200,000 customers lost power at the height of the storm.
