Washington Mayor Gary Manier: Deadly tornado made us even closer

WASHINGTON, Ill. (WLS) -- Deadly tornadoes hit several communities in central Illinois one year ago on Monday. The Nov. 17, 2013 outbreak was rare, as tornadoes ripped through Washington, near Peoria.

Mayor Gary Manier said his community has grown much closer in the year after a deadly tornado struck the town.

Manier spoke with ABC7 Eyewitness News one year after a twister devastated his town in central Illinois. He said that while many residents are still recovering, they know each other much better than they did before the tornado struck.

"As we get through life, we get so busy. Sometimes we don't know all our neighbors. Now, everybody's holding block parties. They're all friends because they helped each other out of basements. They helped clean debris off of other properties with each other. It just made us even closer," Manier said.