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On the ground in Harrisburg

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Illinois

* Our old friend Jak Tichenor traveled to the devastated southern Illinois town of Harrisburg yesterday and left this comment on the blog last night…

Just got back from Harrisburg a few minutes ago. It’s a terrible mess on the city’s south-side. The storm tore a 200-yard path through residential neighborhoods and a strip-shopping center just before 5:00 this morning.

The shopping center was leveled like many of the houses nearby. The sirens sounded but I’m afraid a lot of folks were still caught by surprise in the dark and had no safe place to go. Incredible, heart-breaking scenes of destruction for blocks on end. I’ve seen these things before, but I am stunned by the ferocity of the winds and how utterly complete the destruction is in some places. Some of the houses I saw were just pulverized and their contents were strewn everywhere.

NWS initial estimates say it was an EF-4 with winds of 170-mph. The effort by first-responders from neighboring towns and cities has been terrific. There were dozens of ambulances and emergency vehicles from 30-to-60-miles away. Very heartening to see how people are pitching in everywhere to help their neighbors and friends. Red Cross and other relief agencies are on the scene offering assistance.

Gov. Quinn signed a state disaster declaration in Harrisburg this afternoon and has been in contact with the White House since this morning. We’ll have to wait until a more complete damage assessment is done before we’ll know if there will be a federal disaster declaration.

This was a bad one, folks. Please keep these people in your thoughts and prayers tonight.

* I’ll post some more photos from my brother Devin and some stories from across the country in our special ScribbleLive feed…

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Mar 1, 12 @ 10:00 am

Comments

I have a good friend who lives near Harrisburg and his family lives in Harrisburg. In his family, two homes were severely damaged and one was destroyed. His mother did not hear the sirens and awoke when debris began falling on her. All of the windows were blown out of her home; fortunately, she was fine.

He said it was a real shock to see the neighborhood where he grew up destroyed.

Comment by Pot calling kettle Thursday, Mar 1, 12 @ 10:08 am
I went back to my old job and helped the Daily Register with their coverage yesterday. Jak’s right about the damage.

From the survivors I met on the city’s west side the tornado hit and then the sirens went off. The victims in the apartment complex east of the Walmart probably didn’t have more than one or two minutes of warning as fast as the storm moved.

Comment by Jon Musgrave Thursday, Mar 1, 12 @ 10:14 am
The indifference and power of nature is sobering.

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Mar 1, 12 @ 10:30 am
Rich– Please let us know as you hear of relief efforts in Harrisburg. There are a lot of us who want to go down and help — anything from helping to feed families, clearing debris and gutting properties, rounding up food and water, and– eventually– starting to rebuild.

Comment by Do Gooder Caucus of Illinois Thursday, Mar 1, 12 @ 10:34 am
I expect the Red Cross is taking donations to help Harrisburg residents?

Comment by Wensicia Thursday, Mar 1, 12 @ 10:41 am
Red Cross has set up a shelter and their spokesman says “The very best thing anybody can do to help us support us is give the gift of time, blood or money.”

That’s from CNN.

Comment by Cheryl44 Thursday, Mar 1, 12 @ 10:56 am
Here’s a link to the Southern Illinoisan’s “How to Help” article that’s got a good round-up of ways to provide assistance:

http://thesouthern.com/news/local/how-to-help/article_a8d53d5a-6362-11e1-9010-0019bb2963f4.html

Comment by Jak Tichenor Thursday, Mar 1, 12 @ 11:09 am
Thanks Rich for posting info on the storm. We haven’t had a break from mother nature since 2007 in here in southern Illinois. Every year it has been one natural disaster after another but the aftermath of this tornado is by far the worst. Any help is appreciated and needed. Side-note: This just came in from WSIL TV weatherman Jim Rasor: “question for Fri is not if there will be a tornado, but where and how strong - encourage all in SIL to be aware of FX updates #wsilwx”

Comment by Devin Miller Thursday, Mar 1, 12 @ 11:43 am
Thank you for posting info on the destruction. Just pray Friday does not bring more of it for Illinois. Jak thanks for the link!

Comment by Ain't No Justice Thursday, Mar 1, 12 @ 2:15 pm
The tornado predictions for tomorrow aren’t just for SIL, they’re for the entire TN and OH River Valleys.

Comment by Cheryl44 Thursday, Mar 1, 12 @ 3:45 pm