Disaster strikes
Severe storm sweeps across city; one missingBy STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER STAFF
Published Monday, March 13, 2006
One Springfield resident was missing early today after a vicious storm hit central Illinois on Sunday night.
Authorities were too busy late Sunday coping with the aftermath of the storm to offer any official estimates of damage, but it already was clear that the total will mount into the millions of dollars.
The missing man's home near Seventh and Oak streets was demolished by the storm. What remained of the home was blown onto the garage, and emergency officials had been unable to find the man as of midnight.
Areas across Springfield's south side, especially Jerome, the Parkway Pointe commercial strip, and parts of southeast Springfield from midtown to Dirksen Parkway were thrown into chaos by the storm, which struck western Sangamon County shortly before 8 p.m.
The storm then moved through southern Springfield and northeast out of Sangamon County into Logan County. Loami, New Berlin, Curran and Riverton also suffered significant damage, according to early reports.
The National Weather Service said late Sunday that two more potentially severe storms appeared headed for the Springfield area before daybreak today. A tornado watch was to be in effect until at least 4 a.m.
Power lines were down throughout Springfield. Most of the city and much of the rest of central Illinois were in the dark late Sunday, a situation that apparently will last well into today.
Gas lines were broken, trees were uprooted, and business signs were destroyed. Major damage was reported to many buildings, including businesses in Parkway Pointe and along Wabash Avenue and South MacArthur Boulevard. Many streets were impassable because of downed trees and debris.
Jessi Ford, 18, an employee of Gordmans, 3231 S. Veterans Parkway, said about 30 people were in that store about 8 p.m. when the storm struck, apparently tearing off much of the store's roof.
"I heard a big crash, and it got all windy," she said. "Everybody was calm. Some people were praying."
At the Parkway Pointe Wal-Mart, one Springfield police officer said the area looked like a war zone. Debris was strewn through the parking lot, including what appeared to be roofing material. The wind was so strong in that area that some parked cars reportedly were moved by the gusts.
At the nearby Lindbergh Boulevard Huck's gas station, two pumps were overturned during the storm, and a gasoline smell permeated the area.
"The wind was really horrible," said employee Shelia Lowe. "Part of our roof is over at Applebees.
"We didn't hear nothing. It just hit us all at once. The rain was pouring down. We all went into the office and shut the door. Three police officers got blown off the road and came in there."
In some neighborhoods, the storm was almost capricious. The Brahler's Lube Center at 252 S. Dirksen Parkway was all but demolished - only the waiting room area appeared intact late Sunday - but on either side a Tuffy's Muffler and a strip shopping center suffered only minor damage.
As of 12:15 a.m., the National Weather Service had received reports of 19 injuries in Springfield, with searches under way for occupants in some severely damaged homes.
One Springfield family thought a 16-year-old boy was trapped inside a house at 2279 E. Ash St. that was smashed by a fallen tree, but when they got there, the boy was gone and missing.
Springfield firefighters searched the house and found no one.
John Jones said his nephew, Richard Dickerson, made several phone calls from the house after the storm hit, saying that the roof was gone and that he was trapped in a bathroom.
"He was able to free himself somehow. We didn't know for sure whether he was in there or not. Evidently he came through the window. Thank God he made it out. Now I've got to go find out where he might be," Jones said.
Radio stations reported minor looting at some stores, but police said they could not confirm that as of early today. In some cases, what was thought to be looting apparently were business owners trying to salvage equipment from buildings where the wind had left exposed interiors.
Authorities broadcast several appeals for would-be gawkers to stay home.
The American Red Cross set up an emergency shelter at Lanphier High School late Sunday.
A rumor that an F-16 jet had crashed at Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport was "100 percent false," an airport security officer said.
In Jerome, observers reported that virtually no side streets were passable. People were walking around their neighborhoods checking on friends and acquaintances, they said.
Windows were shattered and signs blown down at businesses up and down MacArthur Boulevard from about Wabash to Highland avenues, setting off burglar alarms that only accentuated the confusion caused by the storm.
Kirk Huettl, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said the storm cell started in Scott County and then moved eastward though southern Morgan county to Sangamon County.
Huettl said there was a confirmed tornado touchdown on Loami Road, about one mile north of Loami, about 8:10 p.m. and another confirmed tornado north of Buffalo on Cornland Road about 8:48 p.m. A tornado was reported in Latham in Logan County about 9:10 p.m.
Huettl said the National Weather Service would investigate today to determine if the damage in Springfield was caused by tornadoes or straight-line winds.
Illinois State Police Lt. Rebecca Long said troopers were responding to damage on Interstate 72 from Morgan to Sangamon counties and east towards Riverton. State police had reports of a few semis overturned and power lines down in those areas, she said.
City Water, Light and Power spokesman Ray Serati said the storm caused a power failure at the CWLP plant itself about 8:30 p.m., resulting in a power outage throughout the city.
Late Sunday, Serati said CWLP crews were working to restore power at the Dallman power plant and hoping to feed power from there to the Lakeside plant.
"We're working as fast as possible. There are pockets of power, about a couple thousand people have power, because of tie-ins with neighboring utilities," he said.
Sangamon County Chief Deputy Sheriff Tony Sacco said his office had received no reports of looting. Deputies set up a command post on Wabash Avenue, shutting it down from Veteran's Parkway and the Stanford overhead, due to large amounts of damage to businesses and downed power lines.
All of the railroads traveling through Sangamon County also were shut down during the storm.
Outside Springfield, moderate to serious damage was scattered across southeastern Logan County from Mount Pulaski to Latham. Two farm homes near Latham were destroyed, as were many farm outbuildings.
One farm family about 5 miles southeast of Mount Pulaski had to be rescued from their basement after their home was destroyed, according to Latham Fire Chief Kenny Crosier.
"They were pinned down in the basement when a tornado - well, that hasn't been confirmed yet, but it might have been a tornado - took out two or three homes there," he said.
Much of Logan County also was without power. Again, however, no injuries were reported, "thankfully," said Dan Fulscher, director of the Logan County Emergency Management Agency.
Staff writers Doug Finke, Kelsea Gurski, Lisa Kernek, Mike Kienzler, Paul Povse, Amanda Reavy, John Reynolds, Gary Schieffer and Chris Wetterich and photographer Justin Fowler contributed to this story.
