2:17
Another victim, Jacklyn K. Klosa, 69, was found later, officials said. She lived in a home with no basement and was found dead in her shower, where she sought shelter, The Associated Press reported.
At least a dozen other people were injured, officials said.
Fairdale, an unincorporated farming community of about 150 people, resembled a kind of moonscape. From above, you could make out the path the twister took as it barreled through a neighborhood, appearing to leave no home spared.
The small town, situated in north-central Illinois about 80 miles from Chicago and 30 miles south of the Wisconsin border, didn’t have tornado sirens, but residents were warned of the tornado through TV and radio.
The tornado affected all 40 to 50 homes and structures in Fairdale, authorities said. Incident commander Pete Polarek said the winds proved to be too powerful for the less than one-square-mile town of about 200 residents.
“There’s some houses that were pushed into a big pile,” Polarek said at a news conference. “Some of the others, all that's left is a foundation.”
— Rockford Fire (@RockfordFire) April 10, 2015
Work continues in #Fairdaletornado. All structures in town are damaged. pic.twitter.com/qf2cVTUGlz
— Rockford Fire (@RockfordFire) April 10, 2015
The tornado was part of a strong system bringing hail and damaging winds to the Midwest and Plains. It was the same storm system that overturned a school bus full of children in Tulsa, Oklahoma, two days ago.
In Rochelle, Illinois, home after home was completely destroyed. A dozen people inside a Rochelle restaurant rushed to the basement, trapped as the storm went right for them. They included Raymond Kramer, his arm around his wife, Betty.
\"Oh when it hit, definitely, we knew it hit,” he said. “We didn't know how bad.\"
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/GTY_FAIRDALE_150410_DG_4x3t_384.jpg\")
But it appeared that Fairdale was hit the hardest. Kirkland Fire Chief Chad Connell, speaking at an overnight news conference, said he expected the region’s tight-knit nature to emerge following the tornado.
“It’s times like now, we really rally around community,” he said.
VIDEO: \"That's going through subdivisions...\" -- Video from resident Stephanie Sego Curtis shows staggering size and audible roar of tornado as it tears through area of Rochelle, Illinois, west of #Chicago: http://abcn.ws/1HX5uzY - ABC News Weather
Posted by ABC News on Thursday, April 9, 2015
A shelter was set up at a nearby high school and the Red Cross and Salvation Army were assisting.
BREAKING: Large wedge tornado on the ground along I-39 outside of Rochelle, IL, west of Chicago: \"Scariest moment of my life!\" -- http://abcn.ws/1HX5uzY -- [ VIDEO: Instagram / @g_finn89 ]
Posted by ABC News on Thursday, April 9, 2015
The Associated Press and ABC News' Michael S. James contributed to this report.
","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/US/tiny-illinois-town-slammed-deadly-tornado/story?id=30217421","legacySlug":"/news/story/tiny-illinois-town-slammed-deadly-tornado-30217421","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"22:28","publishDate":"04-10-2015","updatedTime":"01:53","updatedDate":"04-11-2015","socialImage":{"alt":"Tornado damage is seen in Fairdale, Illinois, April 10, 2015.","credit":"Rockford Fire/Twitter","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/ht_tornado_damage_150410_dg_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"4/10/2015 22:28:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":30217421,"headline":"AC","mediaAssetTitle":"GOOD_FAIRDALE_TORNADO-150410","description":"Every building in Fairdale was damaged, authorities said.","duration":"2:17","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/i/abcnews/2015/04/150410_wn_benitez_631_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["30211844","30238586","30238637"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"April 10, 2015","headline":"Deadly Tornado Tears Through Northern Illinois","section":"news","slug":"/news/story/tornado-touches-northern-illinois-30211844","id":30211844,"image":{"alt":"Deadly Tornado Tears Through Northern Illinois","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/HT_Rochelle_tornado_bc_150409_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"barrie_bear18/Instagram","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"video","date":"April 11, 2015","headline":"Deadly Tornado Outbreak Targets Illinois ","section":"news","slug":"/video/30238586","id":30238586,"image":{"alt":"Deadly Tornado Outbreak Targets Illinois ","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/WNT/150410_wn_benitez0_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"video","date":"April 11, 2015","headline":"2 Killed in Fairdale, Illinois as EF-4 Tornado Levels Town With 200 MPH Winds","section":"news","slug":"/video/30238637","id":30238637,"image":{"alt":"2 Killed in Fairdale, Illinois as EF-4 Tornado Levels Town With 200 MPH Winds","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/WNT/150410_wn_perez0_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1"}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"AC","description":"Every building in Fairdale was damaged, authorities said.","duration":"2:17","uploadDate":"04-10-2015","publication":"04-10-2015","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/i/abcnews/2015/04/150410_wn_benitez_631_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/i/abcnews/2015/04/150410_wn_benitez_631_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/tiny-illinois-town-slammed-deadly-tornado-30217421"}},"playlist":[{"id":"132281378","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132283010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132273278","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132231169","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132206748","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132200241","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054443","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054798","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132033010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131912713","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131830583","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131834976","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554765","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554815","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131543053","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131432442","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131121474","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131247079","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131228784","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131178806","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:news:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"news","title":"AC","pubTime":"18:28","pubDate":"04-10-2015","modTime":"21:53","modDate":"04-10-2015","taxonomyTags":"none","id":30217421,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"AC","mediaAssetTitle":"GOOD_FAIRDALE_TORNADO-150410","videoId":30217421,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/news/story/tiny-illinois-town-slammed-deadly-tornado-30217421"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/30217421","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/30217421","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};