This article was published on FEMA’s website on June 7th, 2022.
Evidence of clean-up and recovery is beginning to show in the heart of this tornado- stricken city. Downtown streets are mostly passable, the bricks and rubble from shattered buildings removed from some blocks. The site of the demolished candle factory that drew the sympathy of the nation is now a vacant lot.
Since the disaster six months ago, mountains of debris have been removed in Western Kentucky and many millions in federal and commonwealth dollars have been spent helping Kentucky’s survivors rebound. Shaken communities across the Bluegrass State are just beginning to regain their footing.
But the historic courthouse in Mayfield, its majestic clock tower snapped off the façade and its interior damaged beyond repair, is a visible reminder of the tornadoes’ deadly destruction and the challenges as survivors heal and towns rebuild.
The tornadoes hit with unexpected force the night of Dec. 10 and continued the next day, carving a path through nine states including Kentucky’s mostly rural towns like Mayfield and Dawson Springs and the city of Bowling Green. Eighty-one lives were lost in Western Kentucky, 24 of them in Graves County, where Mayfield is the county seat.
Mayfield city officials reported 257 structures destroyed, more than 1,000 others damaged.
Immediately after the tornadoes, local, commonwealth and federal disaster officials, nonprofits and volunteers began mobilizing. By daylight, Gov. Andy Beshear was touring Mayfield, Dawson Springs and other damaged areas.
