A minute-long video taken by a motorist early Saturday gives a street-level glimpse of the horrifying aftermath of the tornadoes that swept across five states, killing at least 70.
“Yeah, Mayfield needs some prayers,” local resident Ryan Mitchum says solemnly as he drives through the small town, pop. 10,000, that appears to have been almost entirely flattened by the massive line of storms.
Locals survey catastrophic damage left behind from harsh tornados in Mayfield, Kentucky on Dec. 11, 2021. Mark Humphrey/AP
A house in Mayfield, Kentucky collapses after a devastating outbreak of tornadoes ripped through several U.S. states. REUTERS
A man hugs his daughter amid the rubble in Dawson Springs, Kentucky. via REUTERS
Mart Egbert collects Christmas gifts meant for his grandchildren from what is left of his home after the tornado in Dawson Springs, Kentucky. via REUTERSThe camera captures a smashed white SUV perched atop a pile of brick and rubble, shattered trees and utility poles, and dazed survivors wandering in the dawn light past shredded homes and stores.
“That was a transmission shop,” Mitchum says as he slowly cruises past a gutted blue building that’s missing its roof, windows, and several walls.
“This looks straight out of a movie.”
The series of tornadoes swept across five states in the lower midwest overnight in a storm that may rank as the deadliest ever to hit his state, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Saturday.
The twisters derailed a train and and destroyed a candle factory in western Kentucky, tore the roof off an Amazon warehouse in Illinois, and obliterated a nursing home in Arkansas.
A demolished vehicle is found by rumble in Mayfield, Kentucky. Mark Humphrey/AP