Even to the naked eye, one could observe the tornadoes of December 10 and 11 wrought unseen devastation across west Kentucky.
But the damage was measurable, quantifiable and staggering.
During his weekly Monday news conference, Governor Andy Beshear said the Army Corps of Engineers estimated those two twisters — one an EF3 and the other an EF4 — created 4.6 million cubic yards of debris.
As of Monday, and in cubic yards, Beshear said Hopkins County had removed more than 220,000, Caldwell County had removed more than 136,000, Lyon County had removed more than 70,000 and Christian County had removed more than 12,000.
However, Fulton, Graves, Hart, Hickman, Logan, Marion, Marshall, Muhlenberg, Ohio, Taylor and Warren counties — and the city of Bowling Green — have also been undergoing major debris removal programs, and Beshear noted efforts since the first weekend have only touched 25% of the cleanup.
At Kentucky’s state parks, Beshear said there were still more than 350 displaced guests and 50 first responders being housed — many of them at Kenlake State Resort Park, Pennyrile Forest State Park and Lake Barkley State Resort Park.
Beshear noted the process continues in transitioning some families from these facilities back to their homes and properties, but that volunteers have become a little more scarce as of late — due to some complications between guests and helpers.
Meanwhile, Beshear said the six counties granted temporary housing with FEMA — Caldwell, Graves, Hopkins, Marshall, Muhlenberg and Warren — will begin to see the travel trailers paid for with Kentucky General Assembly approval.
Beshear noted the use of travel trailers should be a better alternative because traditional FEMA trailers often cannot be removed after disasters, usually end up abandoned after use and create further complications.
Though not satisfied with the rehoming process, Beshear expects the first 20 travel trailers will go to Mayfield and Dawson Springs families — perhaps as soon as this week.
While the initial cleanup shouldn’t take longer than six months, Beshear warned the full repair process for west Kentucky could be at minimum two years.
