Tornadoes Destroy Dozens of Homes, More Than 60 Hurt In Central Illinois

Local officials in Livingston County say they expect to request both state and federal disaster assistance after tornadoes there destroyed dozens of homes and injured more than 60 people this weekend.

The twisters that hit the towns of Dwight and Streator Saturday night are among seven being assessed by the National Weather Service. Dwight Village Administrator Kevin McNamara says one of the 14 was seriously injured, and all injuries occurred in a mobile home park, where more than 30 homes were destroyed. He says at least 50 other homes outside the park received moderate to serious damage, and Dwight High School lost part of its roof. For the area impacted, McNamara says a curfew that started Sunday morning remains in effect through 10 this morning. "Com Ed is still doing assessments, checking for power lines," said McNamara. "Nicor is checking for gas leaks. You know, when it's dark and there are no street lights, we just don't want anybody to be injured." More than 800 were still without power in Dwight late Sunday. Governor Pat Quinn is expected to assess the damage there Monday afternoon.

In Streator, Mayor Jim Lansford says about 50 people were treated at area hospitals for minor injuries. He says about 30 homes had major damage, and about 18-hundred residents were without power late yesterday. A perimeter around the area hit hardest in Streator was blocked off as Com Ed was assessing its safety. "The main thing is that nobody lost their life," said Lansford. "And it's unfortunate.. the property damage and some other injuries, but nobody did lose their life. And the support from all the agencies as well as the community itself has been outstanding."

The National Weather Service says storms also damaged or destroyed homes and buildings in LaSalle County (which includes part of Streator), as well as Kankakee, Peoria and Putnam counties. Meteorologist Gino Izzi says most of the tornadoes were EF2's, but there were a couple of EF3's, with wind speeds of around 140 miles an hour. He says the pattern of storms is similar to what the area experienced two years ago today, when a 'super cell' of storms stretching from Livingston County to Chicago's south suburbs produced five or more tornadoes.