Tornadoes sweep through Midwest

Update as of 2 p.m.

Survivors of an EF-4 tornado that ripped through Harrisburg, Ill. early Wednesday morning are beginning the clean-up process with piles of debris and more storms on the way.

The tornado, which killed six and injured over 100 others, moved through about five in
the morning and downed power lines, destroyed homes and flattened buildings.

Offices of the Golden Circle, a facility that helps homebound senior citizens in the area, was destroyed in the storm.

“We’ve got part of our kitchen left, but I just don’t know how I’ll feed my seniors,”
Darlene Goolsby, coordinator at the Golden Circle, said.

A few blocks away, Richard Emerson was cleaning up with his family on Granger Street.

His baby daughter, Chloe, was crying in a playpen on the damaged porch while he took a break for a cigarette.

Emerson said that he ran out of the house when he heard the house shake, thinking that someone was trying to break in. Once out the door, he was picked up by the tornado and carried across the driveway.

“We just gotta find a house is all,” Emerson said. “Thank God we don’t gotta plan a funeral.”


Update at 12:30 p.m.

The city of Harrisburg, Ill., is now partially destroyed. A tornado hit the city early Wednesday morning, leveling homes and businesses. Six people have been reported dead and more than 300 structures were destroyed in the middle of the night.

The tornado hit at 4:56 a.m. While sirens did sound, the storm had winds of more than 170 miles per hour, so the 13-minute warning did not provide sufficient time for people to escape and prepare for the storm.

Sheriff officials reported that about 100 more people were injured.

The storm, which resulted from cold air from the Rocky Mountains mixing with warm air from the Gulf of Mexico, also killed at least three people in southern Missouri, state officials said. The storm moved east Wednesday night, and it tore roofs from buildings and flattened trees in eastern Tennessee, leaving at least three people dead.

Another tornado hit Newburgh, Ind., a town on the Ohio River about 15 miles east of Evansville, on Wednesday. Warrick County Chief Deputy Sheriff Marvin Heilman said no injuries were reported.

Continue checking idsnews.com for updates, and pick up tomorrow’s paper for a full story.

— Claire Aronson and Charlie Scudder