Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • Page 1-12

12 Chicago Tribune Section1 and electricity crews continued to work to restore power. just said Pat Talley, huddled in a hallway closet during the storm and was one of the lucky ones her home survived unscathed. But elsewhere, just so much she said. like a The twister, the deadliest in the U.S. this year, marked an early arrival to tornado season in Illinois and follows a year in which more people were killed by tornadoes in the U.S.than in the previous eight years combined, according to National Weather Servicestatistics.

Many of those 550 deaths last year were tied to devastating storms that ripped through Tuscaloosa, and Joplin, none occurred in Illinois. The Harrisburg twister was the deadliest since an April 2004 tornado killed eightin Utica. Harrisburg the only town hit Wednesday. The system of storms and tornadoes swept through Missouri, where three were killed, and Tennessee, where threedied. are AccuWeather meteorologist Mark Paquettesaid of tornadoes.

these storms coming down right through the heart of the Midwest, Ican say that the pattern is there right now in March for severe Although tornado season in the U.S. is widely recognized to get under way in February, it typically roll north to Illinois until April or May, Paquette said. But even though the howling winds that ripped through southern parts of the state were earlier than usual, they were not unexpected, said WGN-TV meteorologist Tom Skilling. (tornado) has been accurately forecasted for Skilling said. these things happen in the middle of the night when people are not able to hear the warnings, they are particularly Late Wednesday, Kim Harrisburg, surveyed the aftermath of the storm while clearing debris at her house on South Texas Street.

Dunn said she was pulling into the Harrisburg medical center where she works when she heard the sirens. After calling her husband, she left the damaged building, where a wall was knocked down. Dunn said she could not drive on her street because of the debris, so she parked her car and walked home with a flashlight. really weird part was hearing people yell for help she said. you see When she got home, ceiling tiles were missing, half the carport was flattened and parts of the roof were gone, but her husband, son and mother were unharmed.

just she said as she looked off her back porch at what she said used to be two houses. William Recktenwald, who lives in nearby Karbers Ridge, observed the damage as he drove to work at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. About five miles outside Harrisburg, he said, he started seeing what looked like candy in which he figured was insulation. I started seeing pieces of metal from roofs and then entire said Recktenwald, a journalism instructor at SIU and a former Tribune reporter and editor. As he approached Harrisburg, he also of emergency vehicles from the region heading toward the town.

Melissa Dowdy was in the middle of it all. She awoke when the storm began to strike, jumped up and grabbed her twin 6-year-old sons from their bunk bed. There was no time to think, she said. sounded like a freight train was getting ready to come through my bedroom Dowdy said. happened really quickly.

We heard the noise, and it was It sounded and looked as if her house imploded, she said. yard was littered with trees and pieces of a nearby farm store and gas station, both of which were in ruins. The gas stationpumps were about all that withstood the storm. think quite sunk she said. been 12 hours and still Sandra Webster, director of the American Red Little Egypt Network in Murphysboro, said its temporary shelter at the First Baptist Church was open by 7 a.m.

The church basement was staffed with Red Cross volunteers and nurses, but only a handful of people were planning to stay the night there. One of them, Roosevelt said he was staying in the church because his home had lost power. be honest, it was Johnson said of the storm. was so surprised. It happened so Gov.

Pat Quinn toured damaged areas in Harrisburg and proclaimed parts of southern Illinois adisaster area, allowing state resources to be deployed. heart goes out to the victims of this devastating Quinn said, I would like to thank the many people who have stepped up and volunteered to aid their Kim Talley did just that. She lives in 38 mileswest of Harrisburg, and took off work to help victims. all knew that if it was our houses that had been leveled, we would want somebody to come here and help Kim Talley said. heartbreaking, because we knew it could be our family, our school, our pets, our Talley made calls to track down missing people and helped displaced families find shelter for their pets.

people hurting. people that have a said Gina Come, who drove from Benton, to help. have a home. They need Harrisburg Mayor Eric Gregg said the city was in a and recovery and was ensuring every resident was accounted for. is something you never want to see happen in your community.

We watched it happen to Joplin, last Gregg said. of our people went there to help, and today we find ourselves in need. So, very grateful and appreciative of all the support been Mollie Wise, who lives in Harrisburg and works as a youth mental health counselor for the Egyptian Health Department, spent the day watching children and providing crisis counseling. particularly tough on the small city, she said, because Harrisburg had been hit by the economic downturn. seeing the damage and what these families have gone she said.

can tell that going to take a while for them to overcome Gregg vowed Harrisburg would emerge a better community. morning, the city of Harrisburg had a horrific event. We have suffered the loss of lives, we have suffered many injuries and we have suffered millions of dollars in he said. will rebuild this city. This will not stop us.

It will make us Tribune reporters Alissa Groeninger, Ryan Haggerty, Erin Meyer and Ted Gregory contributed. Bill Ruthhart is a Tribune reporter. Tara Kulash and Sarah Schneider are freelance reporters, who were in Harrisburg. The category EF4 tornado Wednesday in Harrisburg killed six people and injured at least 100, while demolishing scores of buildings, local officials said. ABEL PHOTO Steve McDonald stands amid debris atthe home of his mother-in-law, Mary Osman.

Gov. Pat Quinn toured damaged areas in Harrisburg and proclaimed parts of southern Illinois a disaster area. WHITNEY PHOTO CategoryHarrisburgIllinois 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 Population, 2010 9,017 12.8 million Percent white non-Hispanic, 2010 87.5% 63.7% degree or higher, age 2006-10 13.8% 30.3% Median home value, 2006-10 $61,100 $202,500 Median household income, 2006-10 $33,278 $55,735 Percent below poverty, 2006-10 21.7% 12.6% Illinois tornadoes Harrisburg by the numbers Harrisburg vs. Illinois Number of tornadoesDeaths Deadly storm strikes Harrisburg On Wednesday a tornado hit the city of Harrisburg, killing at least six and injuring scores more. The storm also damaged or destroyed more than 250 homes.

SOURCES: NOAA, Census Bureau TRIBUNE Feb. 29 Deaths Springfield Harrisburg ILL. Chicago 100 MILES 52 21 40 136 87 22 144 23 53 61 53 76 1 0 0 4 2 9 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 6 Mayor: Town will rebuild Continuedfrom Page1 As devastating as tornado was, Illinois has a history of many deadlier one in 1925that killed more than 200people in atown 45miles west of Harrisburg. The Great Tri-State Tor- nadocut a 219-milepath through nearly 700peo- ple 606in Illinois and injuring more than the three states, according to reports from the National Weather Service and the Tribune. Hardest hit March 18, 1925, was the town of Murphysboro, where 234people died.

Thirty- three people were killed in a school in nearby De Soto.On Wednesdaymorning, nearly 87 years later, at least 10Murphys- boro emergency vehicles raced to provide aid to Harrisburg. On May 27, 1896, 140people were killed and hundreds were injured by three tornadoes in downstate Illinois, one of which crossed the Mississippi River into East St. Louis after killing 137people in Missouri, according to the National Weather Service. Astorm that ran for 155 miles across central Illinois on May 26, 1917, killed 101 people, mostly in the Mattoon- Charlestonarea, about 200 miles south of Chicago. Nearly 640people were injured.

From 1980 through Tuesday, atotal of 1,424 tornadoes had hit Illinois. Those storms took 69 lives and injured 1,419, according to the Illinois State Climatologist Office and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Atornado that struck the Hilland Joliet areas Aug. 28, 29 people and injured 350. Generally, more tornadoes are being recorded in recent years.

But Northern Illinois University associate professor and meteorologist Walker Ash- leysaid the main reason for the uptick is better storm reporting. Meyer and Ted Gregory Many deadly tornadoes in state history An aerial video shows the destruction caused by the deadly tornado in Harrisburg, Ill. chicagotribune.com Product: CTBroadsheet PubDate: 03-01-2012 Zone: ALL Edition: HD Page: MAIN1-12 User: jkerke Time: Color:.