Travelling at a speed of 96 kilometers per hour, the storm resulted in the entire state of Kentucky being left in ruins, particularly the West (Leach, C., 2021). The tornado covered a total distance of approximately 205 kilometers, having broken the record for the longest distance covered in the last 96 years (Leach, C., 2021).

Beginning at around 8:56pm, the tornadoes tore through an incredible amount of land measuring three quarters of a mile in width by the National Weather Service and was ranked between an Ef3 and an EF5 on the enhanced Fujita scale (Leach, C., 2021).

From Friday night to Saturday morning a total of five tornadoes hit the State, resulting in a total of 28,531 power outages and water shortages (Ramsey, M. 2021).  

One town in particular that was affected quite badly was Dawson Springs. The damage that was caused in Dawson Springs was extremely devastating with 75% of the town being destroyed and a death toll of 13 people, 12 of the victims were children (Mcleary, K., Yan, H. & Waldrop, T., 2015). The mayor claimed that around one third of the population are under the poverty line, meaning that recovery from this disaster will be even more difficult for them. They could be left without power in their homes for at least four weeks. The damage included electrical towers, extending the recovery time as they are more difficult to replace. 

Along with the devastating destruction of many homes and towns, work places factories were damaged too. A warehouse owned by the company Amazon collapsed as a result of the storm killing at least six employees, aged 26 to 62 (Mcleary, K., Yan, H. & Waldrop, T., 2015).  

The mayfield candle factory

The Mayfield Consumer Products factory, which makes candles, has also been a mass talking point in the aftermath of the tornados. While they were at work on the Friday, workers heard the tornado sirens, warning them of the approaching storm. The first siren sounded at approximately 5:30pm, after which, workers asked their bosses if they could go home for safety. Their managers repeatedly refused, threatening to fire them if they left. With the risk of their jobs being at stake their only remaining option was to take cover in the factory’s corridors and bathrooms (Hampton, D., J., 2021). Eight people were killed that night in the Candle Factory and the building was completely demolished during the storm. 

One employee overheard a manager say that if their coworker left they would “more than likely be fired,” (Hampton, D., J., 2021). From the time the first siren sounded, there were at least three hours until the second one. This would have been the perfect opportunity for workers to escape the factory and take shelter in their homes with their families, but instead they were told to go back to work, with attendance lists being recorded to see who had remained (Hampton, D., J., 2021). This has been a massive talking point as the company denies all associating allegations. One of the employees, Emery, 21 years of age, who was interviewed from her hospital bed was left with chemical burns on her body from the candle wax and was trapped for six hours in the factory (Hampton, D., J., 2021). 

Restoration

While the aftermath of the tornadoes has been crushing, there have been many efforts to begin to restore the community. Shelters have been opened for those who have nowhere to live and there is now a relief fund of over 9 million to help recover from the damage (Mcleary, K., Yan, H. & Waldrop, T., 2015). Another method of restoration has included groups of people coming together on social media to source people’s missing items. An example of this is one lady’s wedding photographs that went missing.  In the following days, somebody on Facebook found them 225 kilometers away and posted the photos into a group. The owner spotted this and was reunited with her lost wedding photos (Williams, S., 2021). 

References: 

Leach, C. (2021, December 15). Path of Kentucky tornadoes: New information on strength, size, speed, timing of storms. Lexington Herald Leader. 

https://www.kentucky.com/news/state/kentucky/article256612966.html#storylink=cpy

Ramsey, M. (2021). Kentucky tornadoes: What to know about damage, death toll, how to help and more. Courier Journal. https://eu.courier-journal.com/story/weather/local/severe/2021/12/13/kentucky-tornado-category-sizes-how-help-mayfield-bowling-green/6487205001/ 

Williams, S. (2021, December 16). Kentucky Tornadoes, lost photos found 140 miles away. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59667108 

Mcleary, K., Yan, H. & Waldrop, T. (2015, December 15). In one Kentucky town, many tornado survivors are left with just the clothes on their backs. CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/2021/12/14/weather/kentucky-tornadoes-storms-tuesday/index.html 

Hampton, D., J. (2021, December 13) Kentucky Tornado: Factory workers threatened with firing if they left before tornado, employees say. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/kentucky-tornado-factory-workers-threatened-firing-left-tornado-employ-rcna8581