DAWSON SPRINGS, Ky. (LEX 18) — It’s been exactly three years since an EF-4 tornado ripped across portions of western Kentucky. The town of Dawson Springs was hit particularly hard by it.
“It was unprecedented. We never saw a tornado like that,” said Jack Whitfield, Jr. the Hopkins County Judge/Executive.
Judge Whitfield said that having to assume leadership role from a position of strength, despite all the suffering around him contributed to making Dec. 10, 2021, the worst day of his life.
“I worked in industry and coal, not in weather or disaster issues,” he said from his office early Tuesday morning. “I had to learn on the fly and figure thing out as you go."
More than 400 homes were destroyed in his county, and the death toll reached 19. Those who survived the worst storm of their lives, lived to see the best of their neighbors across the county.
“There were people whose houses were blown down around them and as soon as they could get out of their house, they were out looking for others and helping other people," Whitfield said.
Whitfield remained effusive in his praise of Governor Andy Beshear’s response, as well as the response western Kentuckians received from The White House. Despite being on opposite sides of the political aisle, the disaster was never politicized by either side. And the weight of the Governor’s office, Whitfield said, helped spur the rebuilding efforts.
“Physically, Dawson Springs is probably the newest city in Kentucky, because 75 percent of the housing was lost there, so that's been replaced. It looks much different. The Governor was able to get funding to groups building homes,” Whitfield stated.
He said that seeing the new housing, and smiles on the faces of his residents has been rewarding, but the anniversary date is hard for him because he knows it’s hard for everyone in the area. And constant reminders of what happened here are sprinkled around the county.
“Especially in some of the wooded areas that are off-road, you can still see the devastation and the power of that storm. It does remind you of what we went through. But it also reminds me of the people who came together to help one another,” Whitfield said.
Those people, he knows, will live with the memory of what happened three years ago for the rest of their lives. He knows this because he’ll never forget it himself.
“I think emotionally that tornado changed a lot of people. People will never be the same,” he said, “There are still scars on the landscape, and scars on peoples' emotions and hearts,” he continued.
