STORM CLEANUP CONTINUES; HURRICANE FORCE WINDS RAKE AREA, INFLICT DAMAGES

Instead of lawn mowers, the whining sound of chain saws were heard throughout much of area this weekend as clean-up operations were under way in a large area that was ravaged by severe thunderstorms Friday morning.

In parts of the Missouri Bootheel and Western Kentucky and Tennessee, residents had to endure a second round of severe weather as more storms redeveloped Friday night.

In Southeast Missouri, the line of severe thunderstorms cut a wide swathe of damage that extended from Lake Wappapello northeast of Poplar Bluff to the Mississippi River. Extensive damage to trees and buildings was reported in northern Stoddard County between Advance and Bloomfield along Highway 25.

There was also damage to trees and property reported in Benton, in northern Scott County. East of Benton at least two mobile homes were destroyed and a camper trailer overturned by the high winds.

Many other homes and structures between I-55 and County Road 585 east of I-55 received wind damage.

The three children of Randy and Judy Cagle, who lived along Highway 77 east of Benton and I-55, escaped with only minor injuries when their mobile home was shoved 40-50 feet off its pad and demolished by the winds, which were estimated at hurricane force of 75 mph. A New Hamburg, Benton, Commerce (NBC) Fire Department firefighter-paramedic who treated the children, ages 13, 10 and 8, said it was a miracle they survived.

Repair crews from Union Electric in Cape Girardeau and other UE locations were sent into the storm-damaged area to assist UE crews in restoring service to customers in Stoddard and Scott counties.

The Missouri Highway Patrol reported three semi-trucks were blown off I-55 and overturned in the median between Benton and the Blodgett overpass north of Sikeston. No one was injured.

The weather station at Cape Girardeau Municipal Airport reported an estimated peak wind of 63 mph at 9:53 a.m. But a spokesman said a power failure at the airport disabled the wind speed indicator. At Scotty Hooe's Flying Service at Bell City, the wind speed indicator reached 93 mph before it failed during the storm.

Across the Mississippi River at Thebes, Ill., in northern Alexander County, the storm struck around 10 a.m. Thebes Mayor David McNeely said the winds caused moderate to heavy damage to at least five houses and extensive damage to trees, many of which were uprooted. The mayor said first reports of widespread damage to houses in Thebes were incorrect.

The historic Thebes Courthouse was damaged; however, the mayor said the damage is not believed to be serious. It's believed high winds lifted a part of the courthouse roof just enough to loosen one of the tall, white columns that supports the west roof of the courthouse. McNeely said the top of the column is about one-and-one-half feet off center from its position under the edge of the roof.

He said members of the Thebes Historical Society have determined there is no structural damage to the interior of the building. "We hope that we can somehow lift that part of the roof enough to pull the column back in line gain. At least that's our plan right now," he added.

McNeely ordered the city closed Friday afternoon to the curious until all of the trees, limbs and power lines could be cleared. Signs have been posted at both entrances to Thebes warning sightseers and other unauthorized persons to stay out of the village.

"The village will remain closed until we can clear all the streets and repair all of the electrical lines," the mayor stated. "The village marshal will be patrolling and watching for violators."

Friday's storm knocked out all power and telephone service in Thebes. Residents were forced to spend the night in homes lit by candles or gas lanterns. Many resorted to barbecue grills to prepare meals.

A crew from Central Illinois Public Service Co. arrived late Friday and worked throughout the night. By 6 a.m. Saturday, some areas near Route 3 had electricity. The mayor said CIPS hoped to have all service restored by today. But he said it may be some time before telephone service is restored.

McNeely said the city's waste-water treatment system was still out of service because there was no electricity to operate the sewage lift stations. He said this is not considered a major problem now. The utility company hoped to have power restored to the village's lift stations by late Saturday, he said.

The mayor praised the volunteers who have helped Thebes residents clear the fallen trees and limbs from the streets and homes in the village. Saturday, on the west porch of the courthouse, McNeely said: "We've been able to do at lot in just 24 hours because we're all working together. We're a small community of less than 500 people. But we have had volunteers come in from all over to helps us recover.

"I had a man from Mt. Vernon show up at 8 a.m. wanting to help cut trees and limbs. The last time I saw him he was busy clearing a tree off a house. I can't mention them by name or organizations because they are too many, but they know who they are, and on behalf of the people of Thebes I want to thank everyone for their help."

As the mayor spoke, the sound of chain saws could be heard in all parts of the village as residents and volunteers were busy clearing the trees and limbs from streets, yards and houses.

"We're very fortunate the storm struck when it did," said McNeely. "If it had occurred a week ago Friday there would have been a large number of people camped here for the Civil War re-enactment. There could have been a lot of injuries from falling trees. As it was, we have had only one injury, a dislocated shoulder, and that occurred during the cleanup," McNeely reported.

Cape Girardeau was on the northern fringe of the storms. Most of the damage in the city was limited to downed or uprooted trees and limbs that tore down electric, telephone and cable television lines.

Cape Girardeau Public Works Director Doug Leslie said his department received more than 100 calls after the storm, about 60 of them to report trees or limbs blocking or partially blocking city streets.

"The damage was all over town, from South Ellis to Lexington, but we did receive a number of calls on Perryville Road, from Stoddard northward to Lexington," Leslie said. "We also had an airplane and "T" hangar damaged at the airport by the winds. One of our city-owned semi-trucks with a load of sludge from the waste-water treatment plant was damaged when it was struck by a falling tree on Route H in Scott County. No one was hurt, and the crew was able to drive the truck back to Cape Girardeau for repairs."

The wind also damaged the southwest corner of the six-story, Lindenwood apartment building at 1105 Linden.

Police Chief Howard Boyd Jr. said an additional dispatcher was called in from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. to assist the five dispatchers in handling the volume of phone calls that poured into police headquarters.

Boyd said five off-duty officers were also called in to assist the day-shift officers in responding to calls of downed power lines. The off-duty officers were released at around 1 p.m. Saturday, the chief said.

Roger Harms of Cape Girardeau Cable Television said the entire system went down during the storm after the power went off at the antenna site between Cape Girardeau and Jackson.

"We were able to restore service from the head end with a backup generator at about 1 p.m. Friday, but because Union Electric had some downed power lines in the city some subscribers did not have service because there was no power to our cable amplifiers that are located throughout the city," he said. Harms said by early Saturday service was back to 100 percent.

The storms continued to cause extensive property and tree damage as they passed over Southern Illinois. State Police at Ullin, Ill., reported damage in a 10-15 mile swathe between Thebes on the Mississippi River and Golconda on the Ohio River. Police said that at one time most major highways in the area were blocked in numerous places because of fallen or uprooted trees. Damage was reported in Tamms, Mounds, and Pulaski, where some injuries were also reported.

A resident of Thebes said it took him one-and-one-half hours to drive from near Cairo to Olive Branch by taking the Miller City Blacktop Road because Route 3 was blocked in several places by trees and limbs.

The National Weather Service said the thunderstorms were spawned by a deepening low-pressure center that mixed moist, unstable air from the Gulf of Mexico with cooler and drier air as the center tracked rapidly eastward along a stationary front situated over Missouri and Illinois. The weather service said the tops of the thunderstorms as they passed over the area ranged between 60,000 and 63,000 feet.