Gov. Blagojevich dispatches more state resources to storm-damaged Metro East and southern Illinois         

Several state agencies use coordinated effort to provide staff and equipment to remove debris after storm devastation

[JULY 25, 2006]  SPRINGFIELD -- On Monday, Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich dispatched additional state resources to Madison, St. Clair and Jefferson counties, the areas hardest hit by several rounds of devastating storms last week. Cleanup crews from the Illinois Department of Transportation were on the ground removing landscape debris such as tree branches and limbs, chipping the debris and hauling it away. Work crews from the Illinois Department of Corrections were also providing critical labor to remove debris from roadways and public areas. Action on Monday was concentrated in East St. Louis, Granite City, Cahokia, Mount Vernon and Woodlawn.

"Hundreds of thousands of people are picking up the pieces after storms moved through the Metro East and southern Illinois last week," Blagojevich said. "Cleanup will take time -- but the residents can rest assured that we'll be there to help however we can."

In addition to the departments of Transportation and Corrections, the Illinois State Police agency is providing assistance to local law enforcement upon request, and the governor has put the Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System, the state's law enforcement mutual aid organization, on notice in case additional support is requested.

The Illinois Department of Public Health has provided a total of 7,416 gallons of bottled water: 2,112 gallons to the communities of Mitchell and Pontoon Beach and 5,304 gallons to the regional water distribution center at the Department of Transportation yard in Fairview Heights.

More than 21,000 "meals ready to eat," known as MREs, were being delivered to the Fairview Heights facility Monday for distribution as needed. More than 10,000 have already been distributed. In addition, thousands of bags of ice were delivered to East St. Louis and Granite City on Saturday evening. This is in addition to the over 12,500 meals the American Red Cross has already provided in coordination with the State Emergency Operations Center.

The Department of Insurance has a toll-free number available to residents who were affected by the storms and have questions or concerns about insurance issues: [phone].

Since Wednesday's storms, the governor:

• Directed the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and county emergency services and disaster agencies to work with the local Red Cross to establish cooling centers in the area.

• Declared St. Clair and Madison counties as state disaster areas on Thursday and Clinton and Jefferson on Friday, after the second set of storms hit.

• Activated the State Emergency Operations Center in Springfield on Friday to coordinate state response efforts to the storm-ravaged areas. The governor also dispatched the Illinois Emergency Management Agency's Unified Area Command vehicle to the Metro East. The unit is providing coordinated assistance with the recovery efforts in the entire region.

• Dispatched state damage assessment teams to identify the areas of greatest need on Thursday and to evaluate the damage. Their assessments were under way, but Friday's storms required re-evaluation of some areas. The assessments are used to determine the best use of available state resources.

Additional efforts under way in the Metro East and southern Illinois include the following:

• Power is being quickly restored. Ameren estimates that most customers will have their power restored by late Tuesday.

• Drinking water issues have been mostly resolved. Water pressure has been restored in most of the region; however, boil orders remain in place for Worden and Marine to ensure that the drinking water supply is safe. Among the highest priority response effort is ensuring safe drinking water. Power failures across the area affected public water supply distribution systems, resulting in loss of water pressure and opening the distribution systems to possible contamination. At one point, around 300,000 were affected by loss of a safe drinking water supply. Safe drinking water was supplied to affected areas as water systems worked to restore the safe public water supply.

• The ConocoPhillips refinery also suffered a power outage, causing a shutdown. In order to get the refinery back on line and avoid a fuel shortage in the region, Blagojevich ordered the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to expedite the review process for permits needed to install temporary cooling towers at the refinery -- a process that can take 90 days under normal circumstances. Illinois EPA has received a permit application to install the towers and is giving the review a top priority.

[News release from the governor's office]

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