Des Plaines, Illinois (November 18, 2013)?Severe weather throughout the Midwestern US began early Sunday afternoon and continued through late Sunday evening, with tornadoes tearing through several cities in Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky. As soon as the storm clouds lifted, The Salvation Army responded, offering food, hydration, shelter and spiritual and emotional care through its network of Corps Community Centers throughout the Midwest.

Central Illinois

In the Central Illinois counties of Peoria, Tazewell and Woodford, Illinois, most of the damage was centered around Washington, Illinois. Early reports claimed that an F-4 tornado may have entered Washington (15,000 pop.) and the adjoining areas of Tazewell County at approximately 11:45 am on Sunday, November 17. The most affected cities of Pekin, Morton, Washington and East Peoria (combined pop. of 100,000) suffered fully demolished houses, flooding and severe wind damage. Rescue crews worked through the night, while National Guard and Law Enforcement secured the most damaged areas to limit access.

The Salvation Army has deployed mobile kitchens (canteens) and spiritual care officers to assist in the recovery. Since early Sunday afternoon four canteens from Central Illinois have delivered essential nourishment and hydration to the cities of Washington, Pekin, Roanoke and Gifford, Illinois. In addition, some dry clothing items have been delivered to the search and rescue teams by Salvation Army crews. Salvation Army officers have also been deployed to shelters to comfort survivors.

Today these canteens are providing hot drinks and baked goods for rescue and relief workers in the affected areas. The work of assessing and forecasting the immediate needs of this disaster event continues. Until further notification, the Heartland Division (The Salvation Army in Central Illinois and Eastern Iowa) will consider this a long term assignment and plan accordingly. Salvation Army officials request that you "Please keep this area in your prayers as we move towards recovery."

Metropolitan Chicago

In the Metro Chicago area, The Salvation Army has been at work since Sunday afternoon in Grundy and Will Counties. Today a canteen continued to offer food and hydration to first responders and survivors from a base at Coal City High School.

Southern Illinois

At approximately 2:20 pm Sunday, The Salvation Army dispatched a canteen to Washington County, Illinois for initial response to a report of a tornado touching down in New Minden. Initial reports stated that one house was destroyed, one church was damaged, and there were three confirmed fatalities. Salvation Army Volunteers from Centralia, Illinois assisted with the response effort. The canteen was released by authorities and redeployed to Brookport, Illinois, outside of Paducah, Kentucky, where reports indicated significant tornado damage, with 100 homes affected?50 of those destroyed. A canteen from Paducah is also staged to respond when needed.

Indiana

In Indiana, the Kokomo Corps Community Center sheltered 30 displaced persons last night and its canteen is serving the people of the city today. Damage in the area was so severe that the city prohibited vehicle traffic throughout Sunday evening and Monday morning. In Lafayette, Indiana another canteen was deployed Monday Morning at the request of local officials.

Canteens across Illinois and Indiana are staged to respond immediately when requested by local or state disaster officials. As the severity and extent of the damage becomes clear, it is expected that a greater response will be required.

How to Help

The best way to help The Salvation Army serve those affected by this storm is make a monetary contribution.

Online:

Give online at http://donate.salvationarmyusa.org/usc/2013-storms

By Phone:

Call 1-800-SAL-ARMY [1-800-725-2769]

By Mail:

To donate via mail, please send your check, designated "November Tornadoes" to:

ATTN: NOVEMBER TORNADOES

THE SALVATION ARMY

10 W ALGONQUIN ROAD

DES PLAINES, IL 60016-6000

Text to give:

Text STORM to 80888 and reply YES to confirm your donation*.

Terms and conditions:

*A one-time donation of $10 will be added to your mobile phone bill or deducted from your prepaid balance. Message and Data Rates May Apply. All charges are billed by and payable to your mobile service provider. Service is available on Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile. All purchases must be authorized by account holder. By participating you certify that you are 18 yrs or older and/or have parental permission. Donations are collected for the benefit of The Salvation Army by Innogive Foundation and subject to the terms found at igfn.org/t. Privacy policy: igfn.org/p. Text STOP to 80888 to stop; Text HELP to specify 80888 for help.

Donations of Household Good and Clothing:

Due to the emergency situation, The Salvation Army cannot guarantee that any individual donations of household goods or clothing (gifts-in-kind) will be sent to the disaster area. In times of disaster, our stores fill these needs from existing, pre-sorted stock. PLEASE continue to donate gently-used household goods to your local Salvation Army store. You will help your community and help us prepare for future disaster relief needs. To find your nearest drop-off location, please go to www.satruck.org.

Companies who wish to donate emergency supplies in bulk:

Please contact Bob Eisenhart at (847) 795-3086 or robert_eisenhart@usc.salvationarmy.org. Bob will work with you to determine suitability of donation, our capacity to use it, and where it should be delivered.

About The Salvation Army

The Salvation Army, an evangelical part of the universal Christian church established in London in 1865, has been supporting those in need in His name without discrimination for more than 130 years in the United States. Nearly 30 million Americans receive assistance from The Salvation Army each year through the broadest array of social services that range from providing food for the hungry, relief for disaster victims, assistance for the disabled, outreach to the elderly and ill, clothing and shelter to the homeless and opportunities for underprivileged children. 82 cents of every dollar The Salvation Army spends is used to support those services in 5,000 communities nationwide. For more information, go to www.salvationarmyusa.org.

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PEORIA, IL (11/17/2013)(readMedia)-- Ten firefighters and three vehicles assigned to the 182d Airlift Wing responded to Washington, Ill. to help with immediate search and recovery operations in the tornado damaged area.

The initial call for assistance came through the Mutual Aid Box Alert System (MABUS). The firefighters are trained in structural fire and building damage response and are assisting local firefighters on scene. No additional information is available at this time.

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Dave Loebsack released the following statement today after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the renewable fuel volume obligations (RVOs) under the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) for 2014.

"It is clear that this Administration has done a complete 180 on their support for biofuels. Today's announcement is a devastating decision for Iowa's farmers, rural communities and economy. It will also only increase our dependence on foreign oil at the expense of homegrown fuel. It is a slap in the face to our homegrown industry and Iowa's economy that once again Big Oil has dictated our energy policy while stomping on rural America and hampering efforts to reduce CO2 emissions. I believe in making things in America and there is no reason our fuels shouldn't be made here as well.

"The numbers for renewable fuel and biodiesel released by the EPA are completely unacceptable and I will fight to ensure that Iowa farmers are able to continue move our nation on a sustainable path forward."

A link to a video of Loebsack's reaction to today's announcement can be found here.

It's the strongest storm to make landfall in recorded history.

Typhoon Haiyan brought catastrophic wind and rain to nearly 10 million people in the Philippines, with storm surges as high as 20 feet. Government officials are saying the storm's death toll could top 10,000.

But you can help.

Already CWS is tapping into global networks to help provide emergency food, shelter, water and other relief to those most in need. And as the weakened storm moves north, CWS staff in Vietnam stand prepared to help.

Help survivors now.