The response to Friday's tornado in Williamson County has turned to recovery and clean up. Residents now have to take stock of the damage left behind.
WSIU visited the area and talked with residents and volunteers as they begin to clean-up after the storm.
Jon Binns shows photos of damage to his house and yard that was caused by the EF 4 tornado that left a 16 mile long path of destruction just south of Marion. He and his wife were at home when the storm hit.
When the storm cleared, friends came over to his house helping him clean up the debris. Binns says even the roofing company spent extra time helping out.
Binns wasn't the only person to see people give up their time and skills to help those affected by the storm.
Members of Rotary International came out to help coordinate volunteers and get them assigned to the clean-up. Wayne Gerlock is with Rotary's District 65-10 which covers the southern 28 counties of Illinois. He says they helped get 250 volunteers out into the field over the weekend.
Once volunteers are signed in, they head to their assigned location. The Johnson County Emergency Services and Disaster Agency came up to help their neighbor. Jamie Simmons with the Johnson County ESDA is there to meet the volunteers and get them to the right location.
When he looks at the damage just one house over, Simms knows things could have turned out much worse.
If you would like to volunteer, you are asked to go to the volunteer reception center at the City of Marion Training Center at 211 East Boulevard. Due to the potential for severe weather on Tuesday, the center will be closed. It will reopen on Wednesday.
