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Officials to meet to assess tornado damage

WASHINGTON, Ill. — State officials say federal disaster assessment workers are expected to arrive in Washington and other areas hit by Sunday’s tornadoes starting today.

And state spokesman Brian Williamsen said Thursday that Washington Community High School was open for the first time since one of those tornadoes tore through the central Illinois town.

Washington was hit hardest with hundreds of homes destroyed and one local resident killed. Five people died elsewhere in Illinois.

Williamsen said Federal Emergency Management Agency workers were expected to start assessing damage in some areas around the state Thursday afternoon.

Those assessments are part of the process of applying for federal disaster relief.

Williamsen said Washington residents whose homes can’t be lived in are being kept out of their neighborhoods Thursday as large-scale debris removal continues.

15 Illinois counties get disaster declarations

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