but hickman's shock quickly turned to grief. >> it's hard. it's very emotional. >> how many of your customers do you think are affected? >> over a thousand. it's devastation. it's unbelievable. people, my friends gone life you know wiped out. >> all around washington, illnois residents are picking through and picking up the pieces of their lives. >> there is no furniture in sight. i mean no refrigerator in sight. >> a tornado-the national weather service is calling a preliminary e-f4 cut a wide path through the small central illinios town turning homes inside out, and businesses into piles of mangled trash. the town estimates up to 500 homes were damaged or destroyed and more than 200 people are homeless. cell phone cameras recorded the twister barreling toward washington as pastor tom goodell and his parishoners watched in >> it turned a big sweeping turn and then took out a farmhouse. >> governor pat quinn declared seven illinois counties disaster areas and during a visit to washington said the state will likely seek federal disaster aid. p

hickman is confident that they will rebuild their lives an homes. >> we are tough here in central illinois. but it could take a while to do it. now when you look at all of this rubble behind me it's really amazing here in washington there was really only one fatality that they have confirmed. i say they have confirmed. authorities here say they have about a thousand structures that they have to go through to make sure that there is nobody there. that maybe is trap uppe under t. no one has been reported missing. aat this point they are safe to say one fa fatality in washingt. >> diane what is the process here. does the govenor have to request federal disaster assistance or is it something that the federal government will take care on it's own. >> there are several hoops to jump through. one of the things the govenor is asking people to do is check with your insurance company and snakmake sure that you have loss that are insured. they have to figure out what is insured and isn't insured. and so they can apply for that aid. and part of the aid will go to providing like temporary housing for p