CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. — At least 70 families remain displaced in South-Central Kentucky on Monday.
Taylor County Judge-Executive Barry Smith said the tornadoes that hit the area on Saturday killed one woman and injured at least a dozen or more people.
On Monday, Lt. Gov Jacqueline Coleman toured the area and surveyed the damage.
Smith said as of right now, crews are working to restore power and phone lines and the community is pouring in to offer support whether it’s food, water, or financial needs.
“I would just like to have people pray for our community and pray for the ones that are displaced, the children and everything. Especially here at Christmastime and winter. This week, they're giving pretty weather but what’s to come in the next couple of weeks? It could turn cold anytime,” Smith said.
The tornado ripped roofs off homes, turned trees into bare matchsticks, leaving families there to find shelter.
“You have no idea what a cup of warm coffee, hot coffee meant that day,” said Garrett Thompson, who values the small actions that have touched his heart.
He and his wife, Tracy, are counting their blessings.
“We have been overwhelmed (at the) outpouring of the community, strangers feeding us, giving us water, drinks,” Garrett said.
Their house is shattered, and yards away their shop is destroyed.
“You know, we couldn't get to our basement quick enough cause it’s an outside access,” Garrett said.
So the couple took shelter in their bathroom during the early morning hours Saturday.
“It happened so quickly, you know, you’re just instantaneously, you’re doing what you’re supposed to do and that’s to protect your loved one,” Garrett said.
With friends and family at hand, they’re saving their rock collection that took years to build from a nearby creek. But the last 72 hours have felt like yesterday.
“And everybody says it sounds like a train and that's what it sounded like. It was just so loud, but you could hear stuff breaking and falling or just a lot of wind, a lot of wind,” Tracy said.
She’s now living through the trauma.
“I sleep in a fetal position,” Tracy said.
The images surface mostly at nighttime for her.
“I just can't get it out of my head, just flashes of the house, of us sitting here after it happened with no electric, freezing cold rain coming in everywhere. We're soaking wet, can't get in. We can't get out and go anywhere. People can't come and help us. My family members can't get through. It was really hard," Tracy said. "I just can't stop thinking about that and being in the bathtub, the noise just hearing things just falling breaking. It's unreal.”
Across the street, crews pound away restoring the phone lines in the Campbellsville area and neighbors protect what little is left.
“We're going to make lots more memories somewhere else,” Tracy said.
The Campbellsville couple said they were stuck in their home for more than eight hours following the tornadoes after trees fell on roads, cutting off access for first responders.
Smith said everyone in his county is now accounted for by Monday.