A little more than a month after Cook County declared a disaster following the “most prolific tornado event” to hit the Chicago area in recorded history, the federal government followed suit on Friday with its own disaster proclamation, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The move would make federal money available to help those affected by the July storms, adding that relief to existing state and county resources. Potential expenses that could be covered include temporary housing and home repair, as well as low-interest loans to cover uninsured property losses. The affected areas are in Cook, Fulton, Henry, St. Clair, Washington, Will and Winnebago counties.
“Millions of residents across the state have incurred damages from the severe weather in July due to torrential rain and flash flooding,” Gov. JB Pritzker said in a statement. “To further support affected communities, I have been working with the federal government to mobilize every available resource and bring federal programs to provide relief for our residents.”
Storms on July 14 produced nine tornadoes followed by more than 30 the next day. In all, a total of 41 tornadoes were confirmed to have occurred within 36 hours, breaking the record for the most tornadoes reported in a single event, according to the National Weather Service. The storms, along with their damaging winds of 60 mph to 100 mph, led to the National Weather Service to analyze more than 1,500 damage reports.
It beat the previous single-day high of 22 tornadoes, set during storms in 2023 and 2024, though officials have noted tornado detection technology has improved in recent years, and may detect more than might have been confirmed in past years.
Local municipalities have submitted damage reports for public infrastructure and response costs totaling more than $5 million, according to the office of Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, though figures for the hundreds of homes and businesses damaged in the wake of it have yet to be tallied up.
“Emergency Management and Regional Security will coordinate with FEMA and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency to deliver individual assistance for impacted residents and continue to support impacted municipalities,” Preckwinkle said in a statement. “My administration is committed to working closely with state and federal partners to provide more information to impacted residents as it becomes available in the coming days.”
Individuals affected by the storms can apply for assistance online, by calling 1-800-621-3362 or by using the FEMA app.