There were numerous reports of damage from tornadoes and strong winds in Central Illinois Thursday, including Effingham County and Charleston, but no immediate reports of deaths or life-threatening injuries. More than 130,000 homes and businesses were without power Thursday morning in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio, according to poweroutage.us.
A tornado that was on the ground for ten to 12 miles ripped through Effingham County. The storm first hit near Beecher City around 8 pm and moved east-southeast, with the heaviest damage from west of Shumway to south of Montrose. Officials say several people suffered minor injuries.
“A tornado caused significant damage in areas north of the City of Effingham, impacting homes, roadways, utilities, and other property throughout portions of Effingham County,” Effingham Fire Chief Brant Yochum said in a statement.
Yochum said firefighters responded to damaged homes, collapsed structures, car crashes, downed power lines, gas leaks and blocked roads.
An automobile museum and auto parts complex in Effingham reported on Facebook that it sustained “catastrophic” damage, but that no one was injured.
At midday, the Effingham County Emergency Management Agency announced that, at this stage of their assessments, they believe that 30 homes are total losses and 29 are heavily damaged. They also reconfirmed that they have received no reports of any serious injuries.
The National Weather Service reported that a tractor-trailer flipped over on Interstate 57 north of Effingham, injuring the driver.
In Charleston, considerable damage to buildings was reported near the Coles County Fairgrounds. Eastern Illinois University is closed due to storm damage.
The storm system eventually moved farther south across Marion County, but with the sun down, it lost intensity. There was brief heavy rain in Salem, with the water plant recording 52- hundreths of an inch of rain. Centralia received just one-hundredth of an inch of rain.
Damage from strong winds and a possible tornado were also reported in Florence, Kentucky, near Cincinnati, with local news video and photos showing roofs and siding ripped off buildings, as well as downed trees and power lines.
Possible tornadoes also were reported in southwestern Wisconsin and in Alabama on Wednesday. The weather service said it received numerous reports of wind damage across a wide swath, from Iowa and Missouri to Ohio and West Virginia.
The strong storms were expected to move through the central Appalachians to New England on Thursday, the weather service said.
Damage to MY Garage and Museum in Effingham. Due to damage to the museum and corporate headquarters this weekend’s Midwest Funfest has been canceled.
