200 miles an hour spun entire blocks of homes to the foundation. i felt the house shaking and waited about probably a minute, and then i came back up and saw what you re seeing here. reporter: in a community of pekin, authorities went door to door checking on residents for fear of gas leaks. one resident described the aftermath as a war zone. i m just devastated. i just feel sick. reporter: further south, a tornado carved a path of destruction in brookport, directly hitting two mobile home parks. i don t have anything. my whole it s gone. i don t know where it went. reporter: widespread funnel clouds even spotted in chicago. please clear the seating area calmly. reporter: tornado warnings forced officials to evacuate soldier field, delaying the bears game. but once the twisters passed, there was a new blast of energy, cleanup efforts, waves of people coming to each other s aid looking for survivors, searching for valuables, toppled semis pulled upright and most