VIENNA, ILLINOIS – After back-to-back disasters, Johnson County officials raced to keep up with relief efforts as they attempted to balance tornado cleanup and flooding. 

An Emergency Operations Center meeting was held before the storms hit to get everyone on the same page, according to Richard Marose, the Johnson County Emergency Services and Disaster Agency coordinator.

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“We had an EOC meeting yesterday prior to the storm, with all the responsible parties; county government, city government, highway crews, police, and others,” Marose said. 

The county dealt with the aftermath of two major weather events: a severe storm followed by extensive rainfall.

According to the National Weather Service in Paducah, on April 2, an EF-2 tornado began north of Buncombe, Illinois. The tornado caused damage to hundreds of pine trees along its path. One home lost its roof, and there were some buildings that were destroyed. The tornado traveled through Cedar Rock where trees suffered from extensive damage and also caused damage to the cabins. The tornado ended just south of Deer Ridge Road.

“We’ve been on top of this. This, I think, is our third or fourth tornado in four years,” Marose said on April 3.

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Despite the chaos, Marose said getting to affected areas was not a problem. Police and highway crews were out monitoring roads during the storm. 

“The police department and highway department are all down the roads continuously. They were out last night during the storm, and those guys know the areas very well,” Marose said. 

Marose said that the process for assessing damage was straightforward but tedious. Officials conducted visual assessments and communicated with residents before handing things over to the Red Cross. 

“The Red Cross kind of took over from there, assisting people with their needs,” Marose said. 

One of the worst-hit areas in Johnson County is Tall Tree Road, which was directly struck by the storm. 

Trees were snapped in half or completely uprooted, leaving jumbled piles of branches and debris scattered everywhere. The road was lined with large puddles, and branches were strewn along the sides, making some areas nearly impassable. Entire sections of the woods appeared mangled and torn apart on Thursday.  

Marose said that cleaning the damage would be a long process. 

“We haven’t finished with the last one yet. Cleanup effort recovery will take months,” Marose said. 

Marose says that crews were still working on Dutchman Lake Road, Dixon Road and Shelby Road when the April 2 storm hit. 

Officials haven’t had time to estimate how much the recovery will cost.

“We haven’t had time to sit down and calculate that yet,” Marose said. 

Johnson County was relying on its partnerships with local schools, churches and other community organizations to provide shelter while they prepared for the weekend’s expected floods. 

“We’ve got a great shelter relationship with our high schools, grade schools, and several churches in our county,” Marose said. He credited Superintendent Joshua Stafford for helping organize these efforts. 

Volunteers, especially high school students, stepped up in a big way. 

“Right now, I’m looking at about 30 or 40 young adults filling sandbags. The community definitely comes together,” Marose said Thursday. 

Marose said that as the community braced for more rain that was forecast over the weekend, the community’s response was encouraging. 

Editor’s note: This story was edited to clarify the location of the storm damage. 

Staff reporter Joslyn Cole can be reached at jcole@dailyegyptian.com. To stay up to date on To stay up to date on all your southern Illinois news, be sure to follow The Daily Egyptian on Facebook and Instagram @dailyegyptian.

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