June 30, 2023 – Decatur is among the many central Illinois cities affected by the widespread, damaging storms on June 2 and the city of Decatur has released information on the clean-up efforts.
Several rounds of severe storms moved through central and southeast IL on Thursday. A large bow echo/derecho that initiated from overnight storms over the central Plains entered west-central IL, spreading east-southeast through the entire forecast area by the late afternoon hours. Widespread, significant straight-line wind damage was reported areawide as well as a few tornadoes. This resulted in a substantial amount of tree damage, crop damage, and extensive power outages.
A derecho is a widespread, long-lived wind storm that is associated with a band of rapidly moving showers or thunderstorms variously known as bow echoes, squall lines, or quasi-linear convective systems. By definition, if the wind damage swath extends more than 400 miles in length and 60 miles in width, including wind gusts of at least 58 mph or greater along most of its length, then the event is classified as a derecho. Central Illinois had periods of 80mph wind gusts.
The city of Decatur said it is aware of snapped power lines, downed tree limbs, and scattered debris throughout the city. The City of Decatur is asking for patience while crews work to restore power, repair damage, and clean up our city. Ameren Illinois has reported one-quarter of Decatur customers remain without power. They estimate it will take several days to restore all power outages.
The Decatur Civic Center is open as a cooling and charging station until 5 p.m. on Friday, June 30. For the weekend, the Decatur Public Library is open on Saturday 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Decatur Public Transit is open 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.
The City’s Public Works Department should finish their work opening all public streets by the end of the day, Friday June 30. In the days to follow, Public Works will clean other debris from public streets and the right-of-way. Downed trees and limbs on private property are the responsibility of the private property owner. Due to the size and quantity of downed trees and limbs, the City will remove private tree debris under the following conditions:
- Trees and limbs must be brought to the curb no later than Monday, July 10
- Trees and limbs must be cut so that they are no longer than six feet in length
- The City will NOT collect any other garbage or debris, such as parts of a fence or a shed, building materials, etc. If these items are on the tree and limb pile, none of the debris will be collected.
If residents are without power and running a generator, please ensure it is in a well-ventilated area and not indoors.
Both Waste Management and GFL Disposal have said they will pick up their regular routes unless it is unsafe. Routes that are inaccessible due to storm damage will be put on special routes for collection next week. Residents on inaccessible routes can leave their trash and recycling out until it is collected.
Downed trees/limbs blocking city streets and traffic light outages should be reported to Public Works 217-875-4820.
For information on basic needs and other social services, you can call United Way’s 2-1-1 hotline.
