On Sunday morning, the sun glowed and birds cried out in a small town in Kentucky.
They provided a background that didn't match the scenes that looked like war zones. Just two days ago, a severe tornado marked a 16-mile destruction route through Laurel County, Kentucky, cleared the damage at the London county seat. The roofs, trees torn from the house were cut, leaving the car as a twisted mass of metal. And a few residents died.
By the afternoon, London's Sunshine Hills district was filled with backhoe dissonant beeps, accompanied by an army of faith-based volunteers.
These volunteers were among many in London, a city about 80 miles south of Lexington, 8,000 miles south. This weekend we worked together to support not only those in need, but the entire community who tried to deal with the disaster. Amidst the sadness and devastation, the displaced people got the supplies they needed, ensuring that assistance was the best for many.
“It seems incorrect to sit at home touched by the struggles of so many people,” said Hannah Clark, a neighboring Pulaski county but who came to London to volunteer.
The tornado is part of the storm system that tore the central US since Friday, killing at least 28 people. Of those, 19 died in Kentucky, and all but two in Laurel County died. Outside of Kentucky, Missouri was also hit hard. Seven people died in that state and five were in St. Louis.
Most of the victims in Laurel County were killed in Sunshine Hills, according to Gilbert Asciard, a county sheriff's office official who gave them an exact number. Many of them ranged from age 50 to 70.
Vanessa Mullins is one of the Sunshine Hills Residents whose homes have been destroyed. Late Friday night, the sounds of thunder squealed through the hills, she said, and she was hanging out in the bathroom with her son and her boyfriend. The house shook, the shampoo bottle fell, and dust flapped from the ceiling.
They opened the doors and many of the houses were gone. Someone else's washing machine cylinder and mattress were in the kitchen. There were no walls in the bedroom.
They then say they heard a tragic cry from their neighbors who were later amputated, as their leg was severely injured. And they saw that an elderly couple who had saved an apple from a tree for their neighbor, Mullins' pet pig, was killed.
“It was like the worst horror movie you could imagine,” said DeWayne Broughton, Mullins' boyfriend.
Over the weekend, London staff and residents worked round the clock to provide support. Acciardo said his agency was focused on implementing welfare checks. Praxel, a local electrical line service company, has offered to subsidize displaced people's hotel stays. Shelters have been set up in churches and campsites.
When 18-year-old Caleb Bryant heard about the tornado, he immediately mobilized to provide assistance. All he could think of was how people were trapped under the shards.
Earlier on Saturday, Bryant, along with his friend and two volunteer firefighters, searched for survivors in the affected area. They went through a tragic scene. The shells of the trailer are lifted onto the roof of the house, another trailer bumps into a light pole, another wrapped in it, and scattered everywhere.
“We were all trying to put our emotions behind us and try to work towards finding everyone,” Bryant said. In the end, all the people he checked were explained.
Residents described London as a small rural community in southeastern Kentucky. The city is located near the Daniel Boone National Forest, a sturdy reserve of sandstone cliffs and steep valleys. Every year, London hosts the World Chicken Festival, including Colonel Sanders, KFC Mascots and Look-like Contests for Chicken Cook-Off. (Last year, the festival was destroyed by the remains of Hurricane Helen moving across the Appalachian mountains.)
“We are a very close family,” said Cassidy Johnson, 22, who helped deliver boxes at the Church of God's Faith Meeting in London on Saturday. “Kentucky is our home and we are trying to do whatever we can,” she added.
On Saturday and Sunday, the church, where Kentucky State Police set up stations to report missing loved ones, was packed with people handing out food, clothing and household items to affected people throughout the county.
“They are people who help people who help their neighbors,” said Rodney Goodlett, the church's lead pastor.
Help was also from afar.
Earlier Sunday, Pete Tiell was waiting for a teammate at a gas station in Richmond, Kentucky, at Minuteman Disaster Response, an organization dedicated to helping with the aftermath of natural disasters coming from the Cincinnati area. From Richmond, they had planned to run 40 miles southeast to assess the damage from the storm.
Small rural communities are often unresolved to deal with disasters affecting hundreds of people. Kentucky was still dealing with fatal floods in February and April.
“We're trying to find places that local responses can't handle,” said Thiel (not related to a similarly named tech billionaire).
Sunshine Hills resident, Mullins, initially overwhelmed by her loss and struggled to do much, but felt she sat and stared at the rest of her house.
“My favorite part was going home and relaxing at my animals,” said Mullins, who has around 12 pets, including four pigs, five dogs, two cats and a duck. “And now it's gone.”
However, when she was lying on a bed in her hotel room on Saturday, she gave herself a pep talk. She will accept the help of volunteers she previously declined. And she summoned the rest of her home and the power to start picking up her life.
On Sunday, along with friends and volunteers, she chose the remains of a house she bought three years ago, realizing her dream of homeownership. She let out a pleasant cry when someone discovered her suede tasseled wallet that contained her wallet. The jacket for her high school letter was found. And most of her pets were found alive, including her 300-pound pig, Wookie.
“Life continues,” she said. “I told myself, 'You have to keep going.'
Colin Boyer Contributed with a report from London, Kentucky.
