As homeowners in central and southern Illinois and three other states count up the damage from Friday storms that spawned twisters and high winds, insurance claims are beginning to flow in to property and casualty insurers.
Bloomington-based State Farm said Monday it already has received more than 4,800 claims from the disasters. Kentucky alone has had more than 1,000 claims filed with the company, and State Farm said the number will likely rise as power and cell phone service returns to affected areas.
Deployed personnel are on the ground in several impacted areas, including hard-hit Mayfield, Ky.
State Farm also has issued two $50,000 grants to the Convoy of Hope and the international Red Cross for relief in western Kentucky.
Gov. JB Pritzker issued a disaster proclamation for counties across central and southern Illinois that were impacted by thet storms and tornadoes. A disaster proclamation gives the State of Illinois the ability to expedite the use of state resources, personnel, or equipment, and allows the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) to procure additional resources to help communities recover.
“My administration is committed to standing with Edwardsville and all of the surrounding communities affected in every aspect of the immediate recovery, as well as on the road to rebuilding,” said Pritzker. Edwardsville is where an Amazon warehouse was heavily damaged, resulting in multiple deaths.
Six tornadoes were confirmed in Illinois.
Counties included in the disaster declaration include: Tazewell, Woodford, Livingston, Logan, Iroquois, Champaign, and Ford counties in the WGLT listening area as well as Bond, Cass, Coles, Edgar, Effingham, Fayette, Greene, Grundy, Jackson, Jersey, Kankakee, Lawrence, Macon, Macoupin, Madison, Montgomery, Morgan, Moultrie, Pike, Sangamon, and Shelby counties.
