BRYANT, Ill. (WMBD) — Heavy rain, high winds and baseball sized hail destroyed parts of the small village of Bryant overnight, and now the cleanup begins.
Residents are picking up the pieces amid downed power lines, trees snapped in half, roof shingles and personal affects blown out of homes.
“Where do you go from here? I mean you just start picking up, I got a camper laying on a vehicle and my garage, knocked my garage over on the foundation,” said resident Monica Kline.
According to the Fulton County Emergency Services and Disaster Agency, four people were hurt, including one in critical condition. Thankfully, no one was killed.
Parts of Donald Brown’s home were shattered while other areas remained intact.
“That tree there fell over into the side of the house and blew the windows out,” he said, gesturing towards the kitchen, now filled with glass shards and a tree branch.
Kline said nothing like this has ever happened in Bryant and many people will need assistance.
“It’s never hit this town. It’s happened up the road, it’s happened in Lewistown, just never hit down here. We’re going to need a lot of help because this is a poor community. A lot of these people don’t have money to redo, a lot of these people are out of their houses,” she said.
Brown said the community will persevere and rebuild.
“Everybody works together in Bryant. We will survive, clean it up,” he said.
The Fulton ESDA has put Bryant under a boil order and emergency limited water until further notice.
At least 300 homes in Fulton County were without power as of Wednesday afternoon. Some storm chasers reported seeing a tornado northwest of Lewistown, although it has not been confirmed by the National Weather Service.
Salvation Army mobile vans are assisting with food, water, and hygiene supplies.
The Village Hall in Bryant has opened a cellular charging station. This is in addition to Verizon bringing in additional resources for increased coverage.
UPDATE: An EF-3 tornado with winds sustaining 160 mph was confirmed by NWS.
