Kentucky Residents Reel From Devastating Tornado, Prepare to Deal With Aftermath

MAYFIELD, Kentucky (Sputnik) - As firefighters are desperately searching for survivors following devastating tornadoes in the United States, people in the town of Mayfield, Kentucky, severely devastated by the weekend tragedy, are picking through the rubble, praying, and learning to live on and rebuilding their houses from scraps.

Late Friday and into Saturday, a series of tornadoes ripped through the central and southern United States, leaving behind a trail of destruction and casualties. Tornado-related deaths were reported in Kentucky, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Missouri.

Kentucky, the hardest hit, reported at least 64 deaths following the disaster. Another 105 individuals remain unaccounted for.

ONE-EYED MIRACLE

Due to the tornado that struck their hometown of Mayfield, Jane and Rodney lost their house for a second time. The couple survived - for the second time - and had their cat whom they thought dead, returned to them.

Последствия разрушительного торнадо в Мэйфилде, Кентукки, США

© AFP 2023 / Brett Carlsen

Both forgot about everything when a one-eyed cat named Tiger suddenly appeared from behind the rubble.

"Hey, baby. Where were you hiding yesterday?", Jane addressed the frightened cat.

The couple lost their house in a fire two years ago. They managed to rebuild it from scraps.

"The fire happened in the middle of the night - lost everything and we're blessed, you know, with our lives. If we wouldn't have had a smoke detector we probably wouldn't have but we decided to rebuild without loans or any assistance, and my husband built the house and it was almost done", they told Sputnik.

The couple said that they put hurricane straps on their new house, but apparently, the tornado was too strong.

"It [the tornado] snapped the straps off and we lost everything again and we're happy about our lives and our cat. The clothes I'm wearing the girl gave me for free yesterday", Jane said.

Dad Finds His Four Sons Wandering Around

Jane, who is a nurse, was at work and 30 miles from home on the night of the tornado, and Rodney managed to jump into the car and drive to a safe distance. However, some of their neighbours weren't as fortunate.

"And we had neighbours that have four boys, a pregnant mom with their first girl, and a dad. And he's like, you know, 'they were at home'. He said 'they're all dead'. So he jumped out and was going to try to find them", she said.

People search through a tornado-damaged building on 11 December 2021 in Mayfield, Kentucky. Multiple tornadoes tore through parts of the lower Midwest late on Friday night leaving a large path of destruction and unknown fatalities.

© AFP 2023 / Brett Carlsen

The man found his sons in trees wandering around, stuck in debris, but safe and sound.

"The mom is not good. She is on a ventilator", she said.

Extra Pair of Shoes in Bathroom

Taylor Mavis lives not far from Jane and Rodney. Together with her father, she survived the tornado in the bathroom and now advises everyone to keep an extra pair of shoes there.

"One thing that I have learned very quickly from my friends. Her family made sure that they had shoes and supplies in the shower with them. And I wish we would have thought about it because me and my Dad were both barefooted by the time it was all said and done", she told Sputnik.

Their house was not damaged but was left without a roof.

"I didn't have a sweatshirt on I was just in my bra, sweatpants and I was barefooted walking through here. I wish I would have packed things so that I could give them to other people because there were so many people that didn't have anything. They were just walking around. It has been difficult to watch other people", she said.