This weekend marks the one year anniversary that an EF-4 tornado killed two people and destroyed close to 70 buildings in Fairdale, Illinois. The community is slowly starting to rebuild.
A year later, you can still see damage left behind. For Bearnice Jacobs the storm feels like yesterday.
"Been through enough storms to know it don`t just stop like it did. I didn`t have time to think after that, grab a child and run," said Jacobs.
20 lots now sit empty where buildings once stood. However, comparing Fairdale today to last year you can see an improvement. 15 new homes have been built and 28 destroyed homes have been repaired.
"It makes you feel better to see some of them coming back," said Jacobs.
Fairdale has been able to move forward with help from other and sticking together as a community.
"We`re all pretty close. We also all had each other and even people you didn`t talk to before, you`ve come to know a lot better," said Jacobs.
While Bearnice knows there's still more work ahead, she says Fairdale is on the road to recovery, "Rebuild and move on, that's all we can do," said Jacobs.
10 more homes should be completed within the next few months. For their anniversary, a dedication ceremony will be held to honor the two lives that were lost.