Coal City Hit By EF-3 Tornado, NWS Confirms
COAL CITY, Ill. (CBS) -- The National Weather Service confirms an EF-3 tornado hit Coal City and nearby Braidwood, one of at least nine confirmed tornadoes in northern Illinois Monday night.
The tornado had estimated max winds of 160 miles-per-hour and had a max width of three quarters of a mile and traveled at least 16.5 miles.
Governor Bruce Rauner toured the damage in tornado-ravaged Coal City first from the air and then on the ground, reports CBS 2's Derrick Blakley.
His assessment: extensive damage, but much to give thanks for.
"It's a miracle, frankly when you see the devastation, that there were no deaths and no life threatening injuries," Rauner said. "We're very blessed."
A miracle derived from a lesson well learned, early warnings heeded in the light of 2013's twister in nearby Diamond, Illinois.
"We had sirens going off at least 30 minutes before the impact of the tornado and I will tell you I think residents took that warning very seriously," said Coal City Mayor Terry Halliday.
Residents like Gary and Diann Rink were comforted today by Governor Rauner. The roof of their home was ripped off last night as they rode out the storm.
"We went downstairs to the basement and went down to a small bathroom and a standup shower," Gary said.
"I just shut the door and you could hear everything falling in on you," Diann said. "We were hopin' it didn't come in on us."
Just across the street, Brian Phelan also took refuge below.
"We were actually in the basement before the siren," Phelan said. "We've been getting phone alerts, TV alerts."
The strong winds somehow blew both Phelan's Mustang and his 3,000-pound boat out of his closed garage, through the garage door and onto his driveway.
The winds destroyed one of his flagpoles, too, but the ex-marine still raised his flag this morning, a sign of hope.
The governor assured victims the state's budget woes won't affect assistance. He has declared both Grundy and Lee counties disaster areas.
A curfew is now in effect in Coal City from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.
CBS 2's Roseanne Tellez found one family who had been hit by tornadoes in 2013 and on Monday night.
Bernie and Debbie Burla, their son and their daughter all live side by side right on the edge of Coal City and Diamond.
With seven farm buildings damaged or destroyed, the Burla family focused on saving beans and corn from damaged bins.
Debbie Burla says the damage was a lot worse this time compared to 2013. Even with part of the roof on the clothes line and the grill in a tree, she says the family will stay put.
"This farm is 100 years old, it has been in my husband's family that long. So we're gonna stay," she said.
Bernie Burla says the family has been hit by three tornadoes now, the first in 1947. Nearly 60 years later, the family owns three houses here, including the one grandpa rebuilt. The family rode out last night's tornado in crawl spaces.
The Burlas say it took about nine months to put everything back together from the 2013 tornado and they think this time it will take even longer.
CBS 2's Dorothy Tucker spoke with one man who ended up trapped underneath rubble with his dog after ignoring the sirens.
Kenny Berger lost most of his family's worldly possessions when the tornado ripped through his home. But he could have lost his life.
He was sitting in the living room with the dog he heard trouble.
Sot: it sounded like baseballs Hitting house
Sot: tried to get to crawl space door flew off
Fortunately Berger had sent his wife and two sons to neighbor's house where they were safe. But he was stuck.
"I had nails sticking in my backside and just couldn't move," Berger said.
He admits it seemed like an eternity but it was only a few minutes after the tornado passed and neighbors came to the rescue.
The dog was also rescued and doing fine.
