Belvidere Apollo Theatre collapse
 Concertgoers and on-site security responding to the collapse | |
| Date | March 31, 2023 |
|---|---|
| Time | 7:43 p.m. CST (UTC–6) |
| Venue | Apollo Theatre, located in Belvidere, Illinois |
| Type | Structural failure |
| Cause | Tornado |
| Deaths | 1 direct |
| Non-fatal injuries | 28 (Belvidere Fire Chief estimate) 40 (NWS estimate) |
| Missing | 0 |
On the evening of March 31, 2023, a tornado struck the Apollo Theatre in Belvidere, Illinois, causing the ceiling of the theater to suffer a critical structural failure and collapse onto a concert for the death metal bands Morbid Angel and Crypta with over 200 in attendance. The tornado touched down as part of a larger severe weather outbreak, and was determined to have had winds of 90–100 miles per hour (140–160 km/h) as it hit the theater.
Background
[edit]The Apollo Theatre opened January 11, 1922, in the downtown district of Belvidere. In 1975, the theater suffered a fire, forcing it to close. More recently, the venue had been remodeled as the Apollo Theatre Activity Center, a concert and live music venue, in June 2022.[1] In 2017, the venue was owned by Maria Martinez.[2]
In November 2022, Morbid Angel announced the United States Tour of Terror 2023, alongside Revocation, Skeletal Remains, Vitriol, and Crypta. This tour would bring them to Belvidere's Apollo Theatre on March 31, 2023, following the previous day's concert at Milwaukee's The Rave, and in both the aforementioned bands (minus Vitriol) would be performing.[3]
Timeline
[edit]A historic severe weather event occurred on March 31 across northern Illinois.[4] The Storm Prediction Center outlined a rare high (5/5) risk convective outlook for two areas; a southern area including much of Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee, and a northern area including parts of Iowa and northern Illinois, with Belvidere being placed in an Enhanced (3/5) risk.[5] Earlier in the day, multiple intense to violent tornadoes were reported across the Mississippi valley, including two deadly EF3 tornadoes in Little Rock and Wynne, Arkansas.[6] In the northern risk area, a damaging EF4 tornado was reported near Keota, Iowa, and more tornadic storms had developed in the vicinity of the Quad Cities that afternoon,[4] and in northern Illinois, a tornado watch had been issued at 2:35 pm until 10:00 pm that evening.[7]
Event coordinators recorded that approximately 260 were inside the Apollo Theatre that night, including concertgoers and staff.[8] ABC7 Chicago reported that the concert had been completely sold out. The concert would begin at 7:00 pm.[9]
At 7:23 pm, a tornado warning was issued until 8:30 pm that included Boone County and Belvidere.[10] Municipal sirens began sounding around 7:24 pm.[11] However, authorities believe that the loud music may have overpowered the sound of the sirens.[8] Also at this time, the National Weather Service records that the damage path of an EF1 tornado had begun southwest of Davis Junction in rural Ogle County, which moved northeast towards Belvidere, crossing Interstate 90 in the southeast of the city around 7:40 pm.[12]
The NWS damage survey determined that the tornado had narrowed from roughly .5 mi (0.80 km) in width to .25 mi (0.40 km) as it approached Belvidere's central business district, while also increasing in intensity.[13] At around 7:43 pm, the tornado struck the Apollo Theatre, with maximum winds estimated from damage between 90–100 mph (140–160 km/h) as it impacted the venue at its greatest intensity.[12] The theater's street-facing façade and marquee had collapsed.[11] The upper portion of the structure's roof, including 3 to 5 feet of the upper structure itself, was completely removed, lofted, and dropped on the other side of the street. The lower roof structure above the concert collapsed directly into the venue.[12] Belvidere Fire Chief Shawn Schadle stated that 50-year-old Frederick Forest Livingston, Jr. was pronounced dead at the scene,[9] and twenty-seven others suffered varying degrees of injuries, including two that suffered life-threatening injuries.[a][8] The tornado lifted at 7:49 pm.[13]
Response
[edit]A response was organized within two minutes by the nearby Belvidere Fire Department, located two blocks from the Apollo Theatre.[14] Lieutenant Drall of the Belvidere Fire Department was the first external response agent on the scene and took command of search and rescue operations upon arrival.[15]
At 8:52 pm, Morbid Angel released a post confirming the cancellation of the show, 70 minutes after the tornado hit.[8]
The next day, State Street in Belvidere was closed for debris removal. The Apollo Theatre and a building across the street from it had both been condemned.[14] Following the collapse, two concertgoers stated in an interview with ABC that "[e]veryone kind of chuckled off the phone alerts", claiming that upon receiving a tornado warning that "99% of the time it's uneventful".[11]
Aftermath
[edit]
On April 2, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker toured the site of the damage theater. Alicia Tate-Nadeau of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency stated that "[i]f it wasn't for the fast and coordinated efforts, on Friday night, we would have seen a more tragic outcome from events from today". [16] By June 28, six lawsuits had been filed against the theater for failing to protect concertgoers from the risk of injury or death.[17] Maria Martinez, the owner of the Apollo Theatre, claimed in a September 2023 interview that the theater received no federal or state disaster relief funds, while stating that the theater would reopen on September 16 of that year.[18]
On May 12, 2024, Governor Pritzker and Illinois Fire Marshall James Rivera held a ceremony in Springfield, Illinois to honor six firefighters who assisted in the response to the collapse.[19]
See also
[edit]- 1967 Belvidere tornado, an F4 tornado that struck the city 56 years earlier
- Belvidere High School (Illinois), a school hit by that tornado where 13 died
- Indiana State Fair stage collapse
References
[edit]- ^ "Apollo Theatre AC". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
- ^ "Photos: Apollo Theatre in Belvidere through the years". Rockford Register Star. June 1, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
- ^ "LAVAREPORT". morbidangel.com. Morbid Angel. November 2, 2022. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
- ^ a b Strackbein, Morgan (March 31, 2024). "Looking back at the historic March 31, 2023 tornado outbreak". WQAD. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
- ^ "Mar 31, 2023 1630 UTC Day 1 Convective Outlook". Storm Prediction Center. March 31, 2024.
- ^ "March 31, 2023 - The Little Rock EF-3 Tornado". National Weather Service Little Rock, Arkansas. March 18, 2024. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
- ^ Hart (March 31, 2023). "Tornado Watch 96". Storm Prediction Center.
- ^ a b c d Clark, John (March 31, 2023). "1 dead, 2 critical, dozens injured as roof of Belvidere's Apollo Theater collapses in storm". Mystateline. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
- ^ a b "Apollo Theatre roof collapses during sold-out metal show in Belvidere; 1 dead, 28 injured". WLS-TV. March 31, 2023. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
- ^ "LOT Tornado Warning #013". iastate.edu. National Weather Service Chicago, Illinois. March 31, 2024.
- ^ a b c "1 dead, over 40 injured after roof of Illinois theater collapses during suspected tornado: Officials". ABC News. April 1, 2023. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
- ^ a b c "Damage Assessment Toolkit". National Weather Service.
- ^ a b c "NWS Damage Survey for March 31, 2023 Tornado Event Update #1". iastate.edu. National Weather Service Chicago, Illinois. April 1, 2024.
- ^ a b Piekos, Christian; Wade, Stephanie (April 1, 2024). "12 tornadoes confirmed in Illinois, including near Belvidere Apollo Theatre roof collapse, NWS says". WLS-TV. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
- ^ "On March 31st, at 07:42 pm a EF1 tornado struck a building occupied with 260 persons". facebook.com. Belvidere Fire Department. May 24, 2024. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
- ^ Kawash, Maher (April 2, 2023). "12 tornadoes confirmed in Illinois; Pritzker visits site of deadly Belvidere theater roof collapse". Retrieved December 4, 2024.
- ^ Ingalls, William (June 28, 2023). "Apollo Theatre in Belvidere now faces six lawsuits following March tornado". WREX.
- ^ Ingalls, William (September 15, 2023). "Apollo Theatre owner speaks for first time after deadly tornado hit her business". WREX.
- ^ Clark, John (May 14, 2024). "Belvidere firefighters, who responded to Apollo Theater collapse, honored by Gov. Pritzker". Mystateline. Retrieved December 4, 2024.