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Benedictine University serving as shelter for those displaced by Tuesday's storm

More than a dozen Willowbrook families displaced by damage from Tuesday's storms have sought shelter in Lisle.

For the fifth time since the snowstorm of February 2011, Lisle's Benedictine University has been activated as an emergency Red Cross shelter.

More than 20 people from nearly a dozen families have sought help at the school. Benedictine provided lunch, shelter and shower facilities, while the Red Cross provided breakfast, dinner and other support services.

University spokesman Elliot Peppers said most, if not all of those being served are residents of Willowbrook's Hinsdale Lake Terrace Apartments, where strong winds yanked a roof off one of the buildings.

Michi Dubes, the university's emergency preparedness manager, said the temporary shelter set up in the Founders Woods apartment complex clubhouse allowed for staff to provide semiprivate sleeping quarters for families on one side of the building while Red Cross staff staged registration and interviews with those seeking assistance on the other.

"Obviously we wish no one was in a circumstance to need these services," Dubes said. "But it has worked out really well. We've managed to serve everyone in a welcoming, safe and friendly environment."

Peppers said most of the clients have been served and have found shelter with family members or in local hotels. But the university will continue serving as a Red Cross shelter through Thursday morning, at which time the need to remain open will be reassessed by the Red Cross.

No injuries were reported in Tuesday's storm but the line of thunderstorms moved northeast with winds in excess of 40 mph and pea-size hail.

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