Destructive Tornado Strikes Taylorville, Illinois; 26 People Hurt, Over 500 Buildings Damaged

 https://www.wunderground.com/news/storms/tornado/news/2018-12-02-illinois-tornadoes-taylorville-1dec18

 

A large tornado tore through Taylorville, Illinois, Saturday, damaging hundreds of buildings and injuring at least 26 people, two of them critically.
The tornado struck the town of about 11,200 residents just after 5 p.m. Saturday. Taylorville is about 25 miles southeast of the state's capital, Springfield.
On Monday, the Christian County Emergency Management Agency said 506 structures were damaged by the tornado, 34 were destroyed and 66 had major damage.
The National Weather Service also confirmed it was an EF3 tornado with winds over 155 mph. It was a half-mile wide and traveled more than 11 miles.
(MORE: Over Two Dozen Tornadoes Strike From Plains to Southeast; Four Injured at Naval Base in Georgia)

"There are multiple, I would guess, over a hundred (homes), easily, that are damaged severely from the storm because it took a path almost right through town," Taylorville Assistant Fire Chief Andy Goodall said at a news conference Saturday night.
Goodall said most of the homes' roofs were gone, including his own, with the north and west sides of town hardest hit.
"I know we had probably 12 or 15 houses, at least, where people were trapped," Goodall told the Breeze-Courier Saturday night.

Above: Damage at a convenience store in Taylorville, Illinois, on Dec. 1, 2018.  Downed power lines and trees littered the city, which was preparing for its Twilight Christmas Parade, the Breeze-Courier reported.
No deaths were reported.