Governor Quinn Issues State Disaster Declaration for Three Southern Illinois Counties

SPRINGFIELD - Governor Pat Quinn today issued a state disaster declaration for Franklin, Jackson and Williamson counties to help those areas recover from severe storms that swept through southern Illinois on Friday.  The gubernatorial proclamation enables the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) to coordinate state resources to support local governments in their disaster response and recovery efforts. 

"After dealing with immediate life safety issues after the storm yesterday, IEMA staff was able to assess the vast amount of damage after daybreak today," said Gov. Quinn.  "From that information, it's obvious this declaration is needed to ensure state assets are available to help local officials protect public safety and quickly recover from this destructive storm."

Quinn said the state has an array of assets that can be mobilized to help communities recover from disasters, including personnel and equipment to assist with security and other public safety issues, as well as trucks, heavy equipment and work crews to speed debris removal.

On Friday afternoon, the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) in Springfield was activated and liaisons from several state agencies were called in to coordinate any requests from local emergency management officials for state assistance. 

At this time, state assistance provided to the affected areas included:
• IEMA dispatched staff to several hard-hit counties to work with local officials to assess possible assistance needs.
• ISP dispatched troopers from adjoining districts to the affected areas to assist with traffic direction and security.
• IDOT crews cleared branches and other debris from all state routes in the affected area.
• IDOT delivered a generator to Carterville to support the municipal water system.