Towns across Kentucky Wednesday were clearing out debris from broken homes and other wreckage caused by the weekend’s historic tornadoes, as schools remained closed and the region prepared for afternoon remarks from President
Biden.
The death toll in Kentucky was lowered to 71 after officials realized three victims had been included in the tallies of two counties, a spokesman for Kentucky’s emergency management agency said Wednesday. He said 59 people remained unaccounted for, down from more than 100 Tuesday.
Speaking with state and local officials in Mayfield, Ky., Mr. Biden vowed federal government assistance both in the immediate aftermath of the tornadoes and to help communities rebuild over time.
“I’ve instructed my team to make you all aware of everything that is available from a federal level,” Mr. Biden said. “Don’t hesitate to ask for anything.”
The president arrived in Kentucky on Wednesday morning, first taking an aerial tour of the devastation in Mayfield before surveying the damage on foot while walking through a neighborhood in the hard-hit city.
Utility crews are making progress restoring power in storm-damaged areas. About 13,400 customers still lacked electricity Wednesday afternoon, the spokesman said.
About 90 miles southeast of Dawson Springs, just outside the town of Bowling Green, Eric and Martha Alford were awakened at around 1 a.m. Saturday when their phones started buzzing loudly with tornado warnings.
In the faint distance, they also heard the blare of a horn, a public emergency alert. Then came what sounded like a loud car driving down the sidewalk.
“Martha said, ‘I think that is the wind,’” said Mr. Alford. “We decided to scramble.”
Eric Alford’s home, which he shared with his wife and other family members, was torn apart in Bowling Green, Ky. The family has moved into a motel.
The couple, who run an auto-accessory business, share a suburban ranch-style home with their multigenerational clan, including sons Harrison and Travis, both in their 20s, and Travis’s wife Lily and two-month-old baby Finley Kate.
Travis, Lily and the infant were in a room near the basement stairs and quickly went down to the cellar.
Eric, Martha and Harrison were coming down the hall from the other side of the house as the wind started picking up and tearing through the house.
Mr. Alford, in the rear, was yelling, ‘Go, go, go!’”
“The house was disappearing behind me,” he said.
Mr. Alford, 52 years old, suddenly got slammed against a door by the force. “I hit the ground and started crawling. I wasn’t going to make it to the basement.”
He took cover by lying on the ground between a recliner and another chair. Mr. Alford looked up to see flashes of sky and rain coming in where the ceiling used to be. Suddenly, his son Harrison was by his side, helping guide him to the basement, where the rest of the family, including their dog, Riley, now huddled as parts of the house caved in.
Eric Alford, with his wife Martha, said he considers his family lucky. ’I’m not planning a funeral,’ he said.
It sounded like “someone was upstairs with a sledgehammer just beating the floor,” Mr. Alford recalled. “I was looking at my wife—she was in shock…we don’t get tornadoes in this part of Kentucky, especially in December.”
Soon after 1:15, the tornado passed through Bowling Green and finally dissipated, ending its record-setting run.
Mr. Alford grabbed a flashlight and went out to check on his neighbors. One man was bloody and had glass jutting out of him. As the adrenaline wore off, Mr. Alford himself felt increasing pain down his right torso and went to the hospital, where a doctor said he had internal bruising.
The family has moved into a motel, although Mr. Alford doesn’t think he has slept more than a few hours since Friday because he keeps flashing back to his bloodied neighbor or himself on the floor.
Mr. Alford said he still considers his family lucky and is buoyed by the enormous outpouring of support, even though their house is destroyed.
“That’s a material thing,” he said. “I’m not planning a funeral.”
Write to Scott Calvert at [email protected], Sabrina Siddiqui at [email protected] and Jennifer Levitz at [email protected]
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