Editor's Note: Dr. Jack Rozdilsky, coordinator of Western Illinois University's emergency management program, is available as an emergency management expert for media coverage of the tornado activity that occurred in northern Illinois, Monday, June 22. His research, including a National Science Foundation-funded study (see www.wiu.edu/news/newsrelease.php?release_id=12218), has focused on tornado disaster recovery in Illinois over the last three years.

MACOMB, IL — Late Monday evening in Illinois, severe weather kept many on high alert across the state. According to Western Illinois University's Jack Rozdilsky (WIU's emergency management program coordinator and associate professor in the health sciences and social work department) severe thunderstorms and seven tornados—with wind gusts at more than 100 mph at times—caused significant damage in multiple northern Illinois locations.

"Early indications of this severe weather impact include multiple injuries, but no known deaths. Areas of Illinois significantly affected by the severe storms and tornadoes include locations in and near the cities of cities of Harmon, Sublette, Mendota, Ottawa, Coal City, Braidwood, Kankakee and Hersher," Rozdilsky explained. "Coal City, a Grundy County town of 5,500 residents, was especially hit hard. Several people were rescued from basements overnight. Damages to homes and businesses, electrical outages, broken gas lines and displacement of residents to shelters (in local churches) comprise some of the impacts."

Rozdilsky added the tornadoes that hit locations near and in Coal City Monday were also areas impacted by the November 2013 tornadoes in Illinois.

Through the emergency management program at WIU, Rozdilsky has engaged in research covering the impact of recent (2012 and 2013) tornado disasters in Illinois. His and his students' research and case studies have helped develop disaster-recovery recommendations for communities (see www.wiu.edu/news/newsrelease.php?release_id=12067). The experiences have also provided hands-on learning and in-the-field practice for his emergency management students. He said he has plans to continue this approach for the 2015-16 academic year.

"This fall, this Illinois natural disaster will be incorporated into the curriculum of the courses offered in our emergency management program," he explained. "Currently, alumni of our emergency management program are in the field acting as management officials. In addition, WIU emergency management students are serving as interns and providing assistance to county-level emergency management offices."

Rozdilsky encouraged those who want to provide aid or help (to the latest disaster site in Illinois) to contact the Grundy County Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD), which is acting as a central hub for volunteers and donations. Information on these efforts is available at www.facebook.com/GrundyCOAD.

"These June 22 tornadoes occurred in areas housing critical infrastructure important to the transportation and energy needs of the entire state. High-tension power lines were knocked down along Interstate 55, temporarily interrupting north-south traffic. Although storm damages occurred in close proximity to the Braidwood Nuclear Power Plant, Exelon Nuclear has reported the plant continues to operate safely at 100 percent power," Rozdilsky added. "The initial emergency management response has included life-safety efforts, such as search and rescue and the establishment of shelters for those whose homes were rendered uninhabitable. As these were nighttime tornadoes, at the break of dawn, emergency management personnel worked to redouble life safety efforts, determine the scope of the damages and make the impacted areas accessible to emergency personnel. The State of Illinois has activated its Emergency Operations Center in Springfield to make assistance available to local jurisdictions if they become overwhelmed."

Read Rozdilsky's latest article about the impact of tornadoes in Illinois in, "Do Emergency Plans Cover Urban Debris on Farmland?," which was recently featured (May 2015) in the Illinois Farm Bureau's "Farm Week" (see issuu.com/farmweek/docs/farmweek_may_11__2015).

To learn more about WIU's emergency management bachelor's degree program — the only one of its type in the state — visit www.wiu.edu/coehs/health_sciences/undergraduate_programs/em/index.php.