ang andy roesgen is there. andy how are residents coping? >> authorities have announced that they are giving people about five hours to get back into the area, get their personal property and then get out. and a facebook page has been established to try to reunite some of these folks with their personal effects and paperwork that in some cases have been scattered hundreds of miles away. from the air the damage is easy to see. on the ground a devastating sight for hundreds of residents. >> it's hard to believe. it's almost like a -- can i wake up now? you know? it's almost like a nightmare? >> reporter: on monday stunned survivors of the heavy storms returned to hard-hit washington, illinois, to scrape up what they could, and figure out what is next. >> my neighborhood found my daughter's journal that she kept as a kid. so we'll be looking for bits and pieces today. >> reporter: the five-mile wide twister was one of dozens tornados reported in illinois, slamming into dozens of communities like this one where an elderly brother and sister were