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'Profound, Traumatic, Painful': Kentucky Faces Long Road to Recovery after Deadly Tornadoes

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The tornado outbreak last weekend was the worst in a decade and has left Kentucky with a long road to recovery. To make matters worse, more storms struck again over the last few days.

The deadly weather has brought dangerous tornadoes to the Midwest and Plains states which experts say is rare for December.  The latest round of storms killed five more people and left a path of destruction across the region and more than 400,000 power outages. 

The ongoing bad weather came as many people are still working on disaster relief after that shattering spate of deadly tornadoes. At least 90 people were killed across five states including 75 in Kentucky, six in Illinois, four in Tennessee, two in Arkansas and two in Missouri. Victims have ranged in ages from 2-months-old to 98.

Huda Alubahi's 3-year-old son was killed when their home collapsed on top of them.  She had been holding onto him and her 1-year-old as they took refuge in the bathroom. "I had them both in my arms, I never let them go," she said. "That's how we were found."
 
Kentucky which was the hardest-hit state has a long road to recovery. "The devastation is still, I don't know if the right word is profound, traumatic, painful," said Gov. Andy Beshear (D-KY).  "We here in Kentucky have felt the love and support of the entire country and of the entire world."
 
"There's a ton of work that needs to be done," said Chris Chiles, coordinator of God's Pit Crew. "I've been doing this for 14 years all over the country, and it's hard to get much worse than this."

CLICK HERE to donate to Operation Blessing's tornado relief efforts happening now. 

CBN's Operation Blessing is in Kentucky and Tennessee providing much needed aid and support, working with church partners to deliver food, water, and other necessities.

"They'll be receiving those supplies of food, Home Depot buckets that are filled with cleaning supplies and other things that will assist the people of this community to begin the process of recovery," said Toby Swager, the deployment manager for Operation Blessing U.S. Disaster Relief's National Reserve Staff. 

Operation Blessing teams are preparing to stay for the long haul as residents work to rebuild their communities and their lives.

"It's our plan over the next weeks to continue to search for those who may have been forgotten, may have been overlooked so that they don't feel like they're unimportant," said Swager. 

With the devastation so widespread, Operation Blessing is working to bring more help to the region in the days ahead.

CLICK HERE to donate to Operation Blessing's tornado relief efforts happening now. 

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About The Author

Charlene Aaron
Charlene
Aaron

Charlene Aaron serves as a general assignment reporter, news anchor, co-host of The 700 Club, co-host of 700 Club Interactive, and co-host of The Prayerlink on the CBN News Channel. She covers various social issues, such as abortion, gender identity, race relations, and more. Before joining CBN News in 2003, she was a personal letter writer for Dr. Pat Robertson. Charlene attended Old Dominion University and Elizabeth City State University. She is an ordained minister and pastor’s wife. She lives in Smithfield, VA, with her husband.