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One Year Later: Washington, Illinois residents remember deadly tornado

One year ago a tornado ripped through Washington, Illinois, killing three people and damaging at least 1,000 homes in its path.

One year ago a tornado ripped through Washington, Illinois, killing three people and damaging at least 1,000 homes in its path.

The residents of Washington held several events around town on Sunday, November 16, 2014 in remembrance of the 2013 tornado, including the "Rise Up and Run" fun run put on by the Washington Park District at Oak Ridge Park. Monday, November 17, 2014, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn will be in Washington for a memorial service. It starts at 10:45 a.m. at Lahood Park.

"There's been a repeating theme over the past year with overcoming, moving on, and rebuilding and this [race] just kind of seemed like a good way to signify it," said Amy Johnson, one of the race coordinators.

"At this point in time last year I was digging through rubble and searching for you know, neighbors, and making sure that everybody was safe and just in disbelief of what had just happened and how quickly it happened," said Doug Damery, from the Washington Park District.

There was also a WTVP Movie Premier Viewing at the Five Points Caterpillar Theater for a documentary about the tornado, called "Finding Strength After the Storm."

Sally Williams and her husband are in the process of finishing up their new home, hoping to move in within the next three weeks.

"I remember laying in my daughters bed with her, and I could hear something from a distance and it sounded like a freight train," said Williams.  "That's when I yelled upstairs to my husband to get down to the basement."

"Roofs were torn off houses, our entire block was destroyed. I thought my neighbors were gone," Williams said.

Now, Washington looks completely different. Many of the homes are in the finishing stages of construction.

At the end of her interview with News 8, Williams showed a picture of her family on Thanksgiving, just one week after the tornado, standing where their home's front porch once stood.

"Things come and go, and can be replaced. But you're never guaranteed tomorrow and the people that are in it," said Williams.

Click here for full coverage of the Washington, Illinois tornado.

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