It’s been more than three years since an EF-4 tornado devastated the small western Kentucky town of Mayfield, and there’s still a long way to go when it comes to recovery.
At a McCracken County Public Library talk set for Thursday, Mayfield Mayor Kathy O'Nan will reflect on the process of rebuilding the town. She said she will highlight the city's initial focus on debris removal, which delayed rebuilding for a year, but will discuss efforts to rebuild and revitalize the Graves County seat.
O’Nan said it’s been an emotional journey for her to go back through all of the events of that December evening, but she said she found it to be a learning experience.
“Until you sit down and start working on it, like in this format to present to people, pretty much the whole first year, from the very end of December 2021 through early fall of 2022, the city’s primary role was debris removal and the private places of business that could get their debris moved off their property, and did so early they could go ahead and start rebuilding,” she said. “But for homes and lots of different places that couldn't manage debris removal, and that is a long process. And so the city couldn't start rebuilding the municipal buildings until that process was over.”
O’Nan said that during the storm she sought shelter in her basement and heard the tornado pass by her home. She said she had hoped maybe they had gotten lucky and that the city was spared but she quickly found out otherwise.
“I couldn't believe I didn't hear – after that loud roar or during it – trees falling and glass breaking, but I didn't. And so I thought for just a few seconds, ‘Oh, gosh, maybe we escaped.’ And then I got the call from our fire chief, Jeremy Creason … and I'll never forget his words until I take my last breath. He said ‘Kathy. It's bad. I can't get the bay doors open to get the ambulances out.’ And so that's when I knew I better get busy.”
O’Nan said that the community efforts to clean up the debris were aided by local farmers, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and emergency personnel.
“That night was something your city cannot totally prepare for,” she said. “I've learned from talking to people in Joplin, Missouri, and Lewisville, Mississippi, every storm is different. We were prepared then as well as we could have been but, I promise you, the city [and] the county, are better prepared now than we were then. And I'm proud of what we did that night, and I hope we never have to use what we've done in preparation for something else.”
O’Nan praised the state and federal government for assistance in cleanup and rebuilding efforts. She also praised officials, including Sen. Mitch McConnell, who managed to work housing funding into the federal budget.
“We've gotten CDBG disaster relief funding for housing that is just beginning now, both multifamily and single family dwellings, and we have just benefited greatly from the support from both the state and federal level.”
She also said that nonprofits and Amish labor have primarily been responsible for many of the homes built in the city since the tornado.
O’Nan added that – while the first year was primarily about debris cleanup from the storm and home rebuilding efforts – the second year businesses returned and they started working on rebuilding some city government offices. The official hopes that her talk on Thursday can give people a better idea about the community’s progress in reinventing Mayfield since the December 2021 storm.
“Our hearts were broken that night, and we lost so very much. We lost 24 of our residents, and they can never be replaced. Their families have a hole that will forever be there, and we will never forget those lives that were lost, she said. “ But what I know we did not lose is the resiliency and the determination of the people who live here to rebuild their hometown, and that has sustained us throughout these years.”
O’Nan’s talk, titled “From Disaster to Recovery,” is set for 5:30 p.m. Thursday, June 26, at the McCracken County Public Library. The event is free and open to the public.
