Response State politicians including governor
Pat Quinn and senators
Dick Durbin and
Mark Kirk visited Washington. President Barack Obama authorized disaster funding for 15 counties in Illinois, while Governor Quinn declared seven counties as disaster areas. The
Illinois National Guard dispatched ten firefighters and three vehicles to assist in searching for survivors from the tornado, with reports about people being trapped under rubble. On November 23, Governor Quinn announced the opening of a Multi-Agency Resource Center in Washington so survivors affected by the tornado could have easier access to relief services from 20 state and local agencies, and the Department of Insurance helped cover insurance issues. Ten
182nd Airlift Wing firefighters from the
Illinois Air National Guard were dispatched to the city, searching through a total of 36 leveled structures, clearing debris, and shutting off six gas lines. The
American Red Cross held a relief drive in
Annawan to help victims from the Washington tornado, accepting cash donations and supplies like bottled water; volunteers also helped with the cleaning effort. The city of Washington was placed under a 6 p.m. curfew for a week. Army Reserve soldiers from the 724th Transportation Company, stationed at
Bartonville, Illinois, came to assist after the Fire Chief of Washington requested help to set up blockades that lead into and out of the city; the soldiers set up blockades at four locations around Washington, using semi-trucks and
Humvees. The team of soldiers stayed to support law enforcement until civil services arrived.
The Salvation Army donated over 20,000 supplies to communities in Central Illinois and Eastern Iowa, and over 100 people received emotional and spiritual care. Over 500 volunteers from
All Hands and Hearts visited Washington, Illinois to help with debris removal despite the cold temperature from November to December 2013. Rock to the Rescue, a non-profit organization, raised more than $400,000 in a benefit concert in
Bloomington for affected communities. Six days after the tornado passed, a caravan of fire trucks and ambulances from all around central Illinois waited to welcome the football team Washington Panthers, who were returning from the Illinois 5A state football semifinals. The motorcade carrying the team drove along Main Street, with dozens of residents lining up on the sideline to cheer and support the team. One week after the tornado struck, baseball player
Jim Thome—a Peoria native—donated $100,000 to tornado relief for Washington. 's Peoria Area Office in Washington, clearing debris and talking to residents on how to protect themselves from health hazards.|206x206px Operation BBQ Relief spent over six days in Washington, making over 25,600 meals for the victims of the tornado. The Washington Tornado Relief Fund, later renamed the Washington Illinois Area and the Washington Community Foundation, was created in the wake of the tornado to benefit the residents of the city through assistance to local charities and governmental entities.
Samaritan's Purse dispatched a disaster relief unit onto Washington the day after the tornado, establishing a base in
Morton, Illinois; two days later, a total of 854 volunteers worked on clearing debris and tarping roofs that were damaged. Peoria Brick Company offered hundreds of red Washington Strong brick free of charge to residents who lost their homes, generating $2,570 that was later donated to Washington Illinois Area Foundation tornado relief, with the bricks valued at $7,000.
Reach Out Worldwide came to Washington to help with the clean-up effort, assisting a power company in cutting down an old power pole and removing tree debris from their yard, they cleared out trees and power poles off of roads and lands and cutting them. Immediately after the tornado, students from
Illinois State University set up a donation drive to send supplies like bottled water and money to devastated communities in Central Illinois. On December 9, 50 students from the university traveled to Washington to help with the tornado cleanup.
McCormick Foundation partnered with the
Chicago Tribune,
WGN-TV, and
WGN radio to create the Illinois Tornado Relief Effort campaign; 7,200 people donated more than $880,000, which with matching funds from the foundation and donated expenses was boosted to $1.1 million. The funds were granted to five non-profits in communities hardest hit by the tornadoes, including Washington.
FEMA aid refusal controversy On December 19, 2013, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency requested $6.1 million in federal assistance for the local governments and electrical cooperative in the nine counties that were affected by the tornadoes of November 17. The
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) responded on January 9, 2014, stating how the devastation in Washington was not "severe" enough to merit federal help. Governor Quinn and U.S. senators Dick Durbin and
Mark Kirk voiced their disappointment in the decision. On February 6, 2014, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency appealed the denial of aid, citing $21.4 million in disaster-related expenses for the local governments in the nine counties that it believed were eligible for 75% reimbursements. FEMA told Manier and other state officials that debris cleanup occurring beyond three days after the tornado would not be paid for by the federal government. FEMA also ruled that the federal government was not required to pay for damages done to infrastructure by vehicles helping to clear the street. FEMA later stated Illinois's damage assessments on the tornadoes were not qualified for any federal payment. Manier blamed federal guidelines for the calculation of damages. On March 4, 2014, the state appealed FEMA's denial; the appeal was conclusively rejected, and less than 12 hours later, on March 5, Pat Quinn visited the city of Washington to announce a $45 million state-funded tornado relief plan for the affected communities. Federal legislators promised to fix FEMA's formula—calculating the certain amount of damage cities need to sustain before they qualify for federal aid—but almost three years after the tornado happened, nothing had changed, and during that time period, the state of Illinois had to pay the recovery costs that FEMA would otherwise have covered. == Recovery ==