SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The federal government has approved Illinois Governor JB Pritzker’s request for an emergency disaster declaration to help communities impacted by last week's tornadoes.
The declaration will provide financial support to local communities for storm-related losses or costs incurred in response to the storms, the governor’s office said in a news release Tuesday.
“Local, state, and federal officials are working in concert to make sure Illinois communities have everything they need to recover,” said Pritzker. “I appreciate President Biden’s fast response in ensuring Illinois has all available resources on the road to rebuilding. As local entities work to secure federal reimbursements and recovery dollars, my administration will assist every step of the way.”
The declaration includes several counties in the St. Louis area: Bond, Fayette, Jersey, Macoupin, Madison and Montgomery.
All counties approved under the declaration are:
- Bond
- Cass
- Coles
- Effingham
- Fayette
- Jersey
- Macoupin
- Madison
- Montgomery
- Morgan
- Moultrie
- Pike
- Shelby
On Monday, Pritzker issued a disaster proclamation for counties across the state that were impacted by the storms.
A disaster proclamation gives the state the ability to expedite resources, personnel or equipment, according to a news release from Pritzker’s office. It also allows the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) to obtain more resources to help communities.
Counties included in the proclamation:
- Bond
- Cass
- Champaign
- Coles
- Edgar
- Effingham
- Fayette
- Ford
- Greene
- Grundy
- Iroquois
- Jackson
- Jersey
- Kankakee
- Lawrence
- Livingston
- Logan
- Macon
- Macoupin
- Madison
- Montgomery
- Morgan
- Moultrie
- Pike
- Sangamon
- Shelby
- Tazewell
- Woodford
After additional review from the National Weather Service, Illinois will be adding Menard County to the proclamation and will work to have it added to the federal declaration, too.
IEMA is working with affected areas not covered by the declaration to explore available options to help them recover.
At least two tornadoes touched down in Illinois during Friday night's storms.
The tornado that caused part of an Amazon warehouse to collapse had a nearly four-mile path of destruction from the Pontoon Beach area into Edwardsville. The National Weather Service rated it an EF-3 with top winds of 150 mph.
Six people died in the Amazon distribution center.
Another tornado touched down near Sorento in northern Bond County, Illinois, and moved near Coffeen Lake to north of Ramsey and then toward Shelby County. From Bond into Montgomery and Fayette counties, the highest damage rating was an EF-1 with top winds of 110 mph.