Lisbon couple headed to Illinois to help with tornado relief

As storm warnings moved across portions of Iowa and the the Midwest Sunday afternoon, Ken and Ann Opatz said they were anticipating a call from the Red Cross.

Monday morning, that call came, and they started packing immediately.

The retired Lisbon couple has been volunteering with the Red Cross for two years, but hadn't been on a real deployment until they were sent to Peoria, Ill. to help with tornado relief Monday afternoon -- though they've helped respond to fires and the flooding event that happened last spring.

"We were watching the news this morning and we were just talking about it, and 34 minutes later the phone rang, and 35 minutes later we were packing our bags," said Ann Opatz, 60, as she stood outside the emergency response vehicle she and her husband were taking Monday afternoon.

The response comes one day after a series of tornadoes rocked the Midwest, leaving eight dead, with six in Illinois and two in Michigan.

Opatz, who worked for Cornell College as an assistant dean for 24 years before retiring, said she and her husband decided to volunteer for the Red Cross because they wanted to do something valuable with their retirement years.

After the couple arrives in Peoria Monday afternoon, Opatz said they will likely be sent out to a neighboring area with significant damage. The couple expects to be in Illinois for 10 to 14 days helping with food distribution, handing out packs of food and clean water to people throughout the day.

"We're anxious to get there and help out," Opatz said. "This is what we've been training for."

Nick Jost, the Regional Response Director for the American Red Cross, said those who aren't able to donate their time can help in other ways, by donating money to the relief fund for the tornadoes in Illinois, or helping the Red Cross out with their other activities, like blood drives. The American Red Cross serving greater Iowa will also be sending ERVs from Des Moines and Waterloo.

In all, 10 Red Cross workers have been dispatched from Iowa to help in Illinois.

To donate to the Red Cross' central Illinois tornado response, call 1-800-RED CROSS or visit redcross.org. To determine whether a family member in the affected area is safe, check the Red Cross' safe and well registry.

Reuters contributed to this report.