BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — People are still cleaning up after an EF1 and EF2 tornado swept through some of western Kentucky. One nonprofit in Bowling Green was hit with some damage, but is still persevering in order to open their front doors by March 2024.
The nonprofit is known as St. Gianna’s Crisis Pregnancy Home. The nonprofit aims to help mothers and babies get the support they need. Mothers can live at the house for up to eight months after their baby is born and learn how to care for their infant.
Sylann Smith, communications director of the home, was at Mass when she heard about the damage. Soon after, she and her husband left to see what had happened.
“There was a big tree on the house, there was a big tree over here thankfully laying away from the driveway,” Smith said.
It had been dark outside when they arrived. The two went around the house and noticed the tornado had done more damage than expected.
“My husband kinda took his cellphone, went looking around, and he’s like ‘The garage is gone.’ And then we looked over to the right and I’m like, ‘Well, there’s supposed to be a shed.’ And he’s like, ‘There’s no shed,’” she explained.
The garage and shed were torn apart.
Stephen King, the Operations Director of St. Gianna’s Crisis Pregnancy Home, said, “You can still see a lot of it, in the backyard and in the trees.”
Work has begun to repair the damages. Volunteers have been sawing through broken trees, putting shards of glass and wood into piles, and picking up the debris.
“We have a great group volunteers, they were johnny on the spot, we had to hold them back, but it was hard. They were wanting to get after it,” Smith said.
“I don’t know, it’s just, It’s allowed me to see that there’s a lot of good people in this town,” she added.
Saturday’s tornados left behind trails of damage in Logan, Todd and Warren Counties. The National Weather Service confirmed an EF1 tornado hit near Bowling Green with 90 mph winds. The tornado was on the ground for over two miles.