By Eric Stock
DELAVAN – Delavan mayor Liz Skinner said Ameren fully restored power at 8 p.m. Friday to the part of the Tazewell County city that was severely damaged by a tornado Thursday night.
Several dozen homes in the southeast part of the city sustained damage when a E-F 2 tornado ripped through the town shortly before midnight Thursday. Skinner said clean up crews have been hard at work since early Friday morning.
“There were so many tree limbs in the streets, it was very difficult to get through,” Skinner said. “That was one of the first things they did, they called in Ameren and people to come in and take out those trees.”
The National Weather Service has confirmed the tornado was 250 yards wide and contained winds of up to 120 miles per hour. There were only a few minor injuries reported.
Gov. Bruce Rauner toured tornado-damaged Delavan and the west-Central Illinois community of Cameron Friday which also saw tornado damage.
“As I’ve been meeting with the families, their resilience and their positive attitude toward dealing with this devastation has been remarkable,” Rauner said.
Rauner activated the State Emergency Operations Center on Friday to activate resources to help the tornado-damaged communities. He also urged anyone working outside to pace themselves.
“This humidity is devastating,” Rauner said. “This heat is dangerous, it is life threatening.”
Central Illinois will be under a heat advisory until 7 p.m. Saturday with a high temperatures of 93 and a heat index value of 108.
Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].
