On February 29th, 2012, an early morning tornado killed seven residents of Harrisburg, Illinois, and destroyed 143 homes and several businesses. Preliminarily listed by the National Weather Service as an FE4, the tornado had wind speeds topping at 180 mph.

The Golden Circle Senior Wellness Center was completely destroyed in the storm. Along with the loss of records, photos of local veterans, and pool tables, the senior food program, serving 80 lunches from the Center's dining room and preparing an additional 120 lunches for the local Meals on Wheels program, was crippled. During the past several months, Golden Circle has temporarily moved their operations to the Dorrisville Baptist Church while they arrange funding to rebuild.

The Golden Circle Senior Center was leveled by the February 29, 2012, tornadoes which swept through Harrisburg, Illinois.

Through subsequent receipt of a construction grant and insurance money, the Center has raised $800,000 - most of the way to their $1M goal to rebuild a permanet center serving 150-250 people each day.

Still, $1 million doesn't leave much room for amenities.

Over 100 tornadoes touched down last weekend as part of a massive storm system passing through the Midwest.

On March 30, representatives of Architecture for Humanity and the AIA met with officials of the City of Harrisburg, Illinois, the site of tremendous tornado damage occurring on February 29. The discussion assessed the needs of the town, as immediate relief winds down, clean up continues and discussions of the long-term needs and prospects of the community begin.

Harrisburg's own Daily Register recounts the discussion:
http://www.dailyregister.com/news/x221039248/Architecture-for-Humanity-h...

Below are the meeting notes in full:

On Tuesday, Tornadoes struck again.

While working with local partners in the Midwest on a response for reconstruction in Harrisburg, IL, a cluster of tornadoes simultaneously hit the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, home to over 6 million people. Estimates report that over 650 houses have been damaged and more than 400 structures completely destroyed, yet miraculously there have been few injuries and no fatalities.

As you know, more devastating weather conditions battered the Midwest and the South throughout this past weekend. The latest round of deadly tornadoes has affected many regions where some of our chapters are located. We’re very thankful to be able to rely on our chapters in Chicago, Indianapolis, Lexington and Louisville. In the short run, these chapters are reaching out to national, state and local agencies and officials to let them know that they are at the ready, willing to help. We know from experience that successful recovery efforts always include community stakeholders and their participation in the process.

Relying on our current strategic partnership with the AIA, we are mobilizing a large and dedicated design community that is more than prepared to respond with its professional skills and knowledge. We are grateful to our respective members who are actively responding and participating in this disaster response.

It looks like Harrisburg dodged more severe weather last night. This means their recovery can proceed undeterred (for now - storm season in the Midwest is just beginning, and set to break records). Relief efforts are underway. We've enlisted volunteers from our closest chapters to report from Harrisburg. We'll soon be ready to step in for long-term recovery.

Early yesterday, February 29, storms through the Midwest spawned tornadoes killing twelve and destroying more than 200 homes and businesses. If you are an architect in the area and are interested in getting involved, please let us know. If you'd like to make a donation to help support families rebuild, we invite you to make a donation below.

Support Midwest Tornadoes Recovery 2012

Best Regards,
Architecture for Humanity

Image by Flickr user Matthew Oliphant