BARNSLEY, Ky. (AP) — Devin Johnson’s life was uprooted for a second time when a tornado leveled his home over Memorial Day weekend — on the same Kentucky lot where another storm left him homeless in 2021.
Johnson, 21, watched Tuesday as workers used chainsaws to cut into the wreckage of the trailer he called home with his grandparents and girlfriend. It was an all too familiar scene for his family.
Their previous home in the small western Kentucky community of Barnsley was destroyed during another terrifying tornado outbreak in December 2021 that killed 81 people in the Bluegrass State.
“We never thought this would happen again,” Johnson said.
Amid all the uncertainty as they start over, there’s one thing they’ve decided, he said.
“The only thing we know for sure is we’re not going back here,” Johnson said. “There will be so many memories of us losing everything.”
Barnsley was hit by a powerful tornado on Sunday that produced winds of up to 166 miles per hour and tore a path of destruction across nearly 36 miles of Kentucky, the National Weather Service said.
The region was hit by several major storms and damage survey teams were assessing the wreckage to determine how many tornadoes there were. Another powerful storm Sunday narrowly missed the town of Mayfield, where a difficult recovery continues from a tornado that struck the town in 2021.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency due to Sunday’s storms and reported five deaths statewide. The governor toured storm-affected areas of Western Kentucky on Monday.
“We are committed to helping rebuild every home and every life – that’s a promise,” Beshear said on the social media platform X on Tuesday.
In Barnsley, the tornado tore through part of the storm-weary community, throwing Johnson’s mangled caravan into a garden next to where Mark Minton’s family lived. The Minton family had roof damage and one end of their trailer was pushed off the foundation. The 2021 storm destroyed their home.
“I’m pretty good at statistics and probabilities, but those numbers don’t add up,” Minton said Tuesday about his family’s home being hit twice.
He doesn’t know yet whether it will be a total loss this time. His family stayed put after the 2021 storm, but he’s not sure what they’ll do after the latest twister, which hit the day after his daughter’s wedding. He owns a lawn care business and his youngest son will be starting high school next school year – two factors that encourage him to stay put.
“I’ve seen quite a few storms,” Minton said. “But to see the same area hit – with almost pinpoint accuracy – twice in two years makes it hard to stay in the area.”
His family fled to safety both times before each storm hit. While his family stays with relatives, he spends the nights at home to protect himself from possible looting.
Johnson’s family also fled before the tornado hit Sunday, taking refuge with a relative in nearby Madisonville. As they watched the weather warnings as the storm raged towards Barnsley, they felt a sinking feeling.
“We all felt like we had lost everything again,” he said.
As he drove home later, emergency vehicles sped past him. As he turned the corner into his neighborhood, “there was just nothing” as he approached his family’s lot.
In 2021, Johnson’s family rode out the storm in their trailer. With no basement, Johnson hunkered down in the kitchen and clung desperately to a table with his grandparents, his sister and her boyfriend. His aunt and uncle put a mattress over them in the hallway.
“You started hearing a roar and then the whole house started shaking,” he remembers. “The power started flickering and the windows broke. And then all of a sudden you feel the wind and the pressure and this roar rushing through the house and it starts pulling at you and dragging you out.”
They all came out unscathed, but the trailer was destroyed. From the wreckage, they recovered a number of belongings, including a beloved statue of Jesus and Mary that his grandmother had owned for decades, Johnson said. They recovered some family memories, including photos.
Johnson’s family furnished their new trailer in phases once they scraped together enough money, he said. But after the latest dispute, the family’s home and belongings were scattered across the neighborhood.
“This time everything we have is gone,” he said.
Later that day, they found an engagement ring that belonged to his girlfriend’s grandmother.
“It’s very meaningful to her because it’s the last memory she has of her grandmother,” he said.
His family was insured both times when disaster struck. But their situation is just as dire as the first time.
“Right now we don’t have any money,” Johnson said. “So we’re just trying to figure out how to move forward.”
He is staying at a motel in Madisonville, where relatives are helping with costs.
The plan is to move to Madisonville. He and his girlfriend have been stashing away money since the 2021 storm in hopes of getting a home of their own, but for now they will likely live with his grandparents, he said. Johnson has a warehouse job in Madisonville and his girlfriend works in a factory.
“It’s been so tight since then with all the bills we’ve had to go through,” he said.
Now that he has seen the sheer power of tornadoes, he longs for a house with a basement.
“We know the power they are capable of and how easily they can take your life,” he said.
