Community rallies after tornado hits small town
JEFFERSON COUNTY, Ill. (KBSI) – After powerful storms moved through the region many Southern Illinois communities are now picking up the pieces.
On Stafford Lane and Village Lane in Jefferson County, Illinois, community members are cleaning up after a storm swept through the area and left massive devastation.
“I cried and I’m not lying” says Williams. “I cried this morning last night I was too scared. Yeah, but this morning I drove and I cried because all the work I put on my property to help my mom she is 77 years old she is getting older and I’m disabled”
Terry Williams, lives in Jefferson County and shares that he was on his porch grilling for Father’s Day when his mobile home lost power and he could hear the wind pickup.
“I cried and I’m not lying” says I cried this morning when I woke up last night getting was too scared. Yeah, but this morning I drove and I cried because all the work I put on my property to help my mom she is 77 years old. She is getting older and I’m disabled” says Williams.
“It’s here. I’m like, what is here? No way, I looked out my window, and you could just see it start getting big on top of the trees” says Williams.
Williams shares he watched as the EF-3 tornado ripped through a wooded area behind his home. He shares they could hear the trees falling around the home, and they became trapped inside.
“That tree there fell across the road this way, then these trees fell down on my porch. We drove down the road on that side road by my house is trees all the way over my house. It took the trees all over my house. I don’t know how it didn’t hit us, I don’t know. Good lord, or whatever. We see it coming and it was coming right toward the center of the trailer, and we watched it” says Williams. “And then all of a sudden we got in the middle of the house, dogs and stuff like always squatted down and it hit and sound like a freight train.“
Williams says today he feels very fortunate; he shares that a local company was out first thing this morning helping him cleanup the trees, and the damage to his home was minimal, but his neighbors weren’t so lucky and according to the Jefferson County sheriff’s office at least two lives were lost in the storm.
It came across through here, and I guess for some reason it’s veered off to the right. Come out took kale, which is a buddy of mine like family to me, it took their property out right here behind them is Wade. He has no home. It ripped his home completely out” says Williams.
