Kentucky hardest hit as storms leave dozens dead in 5 states | AP News
The news coverage of the tornados show that they were so much worse than I had initially read.
My heart goes out to all of the victims and their families. So sad, especially this close to Christmas.
So horrible. I am very glad to have a basement. It freaks me out a bit that my oldest lives in an apartment complex without an underground level.
I live 20 miles from Mayfield. I have friends from Mayfield and have taught many students from Mayfield for over 30 years. Mayfield is the rivalry game for the high school I attended. I have been there many times and know well how charming their town square was. The pictures keep coming in my Facebook feed and they are devastating. But, so many others in the path of the storm were affected as well. As the storm moved to the northeast it took out the lake house of friends whose son/DIL/granddaughter were there when it hit. Another friend from my cc posted pictures of her son & DIL’s home in Princeton - second story of a split level house completely gone.
Some may have seen the young woman who was rescued from the candle factory in Mayfield after being trapped for 2 hours on the Today Show or NBC Nightly News. She is a former student who was named one of our outstanding students at the honors program the year she graduated. I think she has 5 kids and she turned 40 yesterday. She has dealt with a lot of adversity through the years and seemed remarkably upbeat yesterday in interviews, but I suspect there was much adrenaline pumping through her and that she will have some challenging moments of reflection in the future. At least she will get the chance to work through those issues as most of her co-workers didn’t make it out. Graves County (Mayfield is the county seat) has become home to a substantial immigrant population in recent years and many of those working the third shift were immigrants struggling to make a better life.
It is going to be a tough recovery, but good people are already at work meeting the immediate needs. Some local guys that do fabulous work to combat food insecurity spent the day in one of the small communities near Mayfield cooking for those who need a meal and are going back today to do the same. Many others doing similar work. I hope our area will continue to pull together to provide the support that all of those affected will need over the long term.
World Central Kitchen has established a presence on the outskirts of Mayfield. Jose Andres and his organization are fabulous and I have supported them with small donations through the years. I never expected that WCK would be helping out in an area so close to my home.
Unbelievable, absolutely horrible. 