MAYFIELD, Ky. — New homes are being built while other homes are still in rubble.
It’s been six months and counting since the devastating tornado outbreak in Western Kentucky. 80 Kentuckians died because of the storms and thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed.
In the hours following a direct hit by an EF-4 tornado, it was difficult to comprehend the scale of damage the storm caused.
“I had somebody stop the other day and said it looks worse now than it did before right after the tornado,” David Franks told Spectrum News 1.
Franks is a contractor working on several home builds in Mayfield. Six months later, you can see homes that have been untouched, walls collapsed in and exposed belongings, furniture and family photos still hanging on the wall. “
“A lot of people ain’t even had enough time to get their lives back together yet, from it,” Franks adds.
For the past three weeks, Franks has been driving to Mayfield from Paducah, working on the first homes to be rebuilt along Ann Street on the northeast side of town. Amid the lingering devastation, it is a sign of progress.
“Oh, I think it will be a couple of years before it’s all back to even looking normal and it may never look normal again.”
Franks is building three homes, one next to another, contracted by a single developer who bought several lots in the weeks following the storm.
“That’s what happened here. The guy who is building these bought all the lots up from somebody. They owned a bunch of rental property and he went and bought all the lots up from them after they got their insurance money out of it. And there will be another four or five going in across the street,” Franks said.
The storm displaced thousands of residents and many certainly have the intention of returning.
“Yeah, who knows? Some of these may never be touched. I guess one day the city will get them back who knows? ”
For David Franks and the rest of the city, a lot of work lies ahead.