 Concertgoers and on-site security responding to the collapse | |
| Date | March 31, 2023 |
|---|---|
| Time | 7:43 p.m. CST (UTC–6) |
| Venue | Apollo Theatre |
| Location | Belvidere, Illinois, US |
| Type | Structural failure |
| Cause | Tornado |
| Deaths | 1 |
| Non-fatal injuries | 48[a] |
On the evening of March 31, 2023, a tornado struck the Apollo Theatre in Belvidere, Illinois, United States, causing the ceiling of the theater to suffer a critical structural failure and collapse onto a sold-out concert headlined by the death metal band Morbid Angel, with over 200 on-site. The show began despite advance knowledge of expected and imminent severe weather. After a half-hour storm break was instituted during the opening performance of the band Crypta, the tornado, one of many spawned by a historic outbreak that day, struck the theater. Winds of 90–100 miles per hour (140–160 km/h) caused the failure of the lower roof structure, with large amounts of debris falling into the venue, primarily onto concertgoers. Multiple people were buried by debris caused by the collapse. Concertgoers aided in removing debris from on top of others, before the arrival of the Belvidere Fire Department, who evacuated the building and handled search and rescue operations alongside emergency management agencies from three neighboring counties. In all, one concertgoer was pronounced dead at the scene and 27 were taken to hospitals by ambulance, out of a total of 48 that suffered non-fatal injuries.
The venue had been selected for the concert in November of the previous year, following the theater's remodeling as a concert venue. Severe weather was expected on the evening of March 31, but multiple people remained in the stage area after warnings for imminent severe weather were received, which following the collapse became the subject of multiple lawsuits. The Apollo Theatre was condemned the next day, suffering major damage to not only the roof over the stage but also the street-facing facade and the upper roof structure, the latter two of which were found on the street after the tornado. Several months later, the venue had reopened after multiple months of remodeling efforts and a brief fire on the reconstructed roof.
- ^ "Man dead, dozens remain hospitalized after roof of historic Apollo Theatre in Belvidere collapses during tornado". WREX. April 1, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
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