In Mayfield, a US town razed by the weekend’s tornadoes, locals say they are driven by their Christian faith to clear the rubble, collect supplies and turn their churches into shelters for those left homeless by one of the most devastating storm outbreaks in American history.
The small town in southern Kentucky is part of the “Bible Belt,” a swathe of the southern United States where life centers on the church.
On Sunday, residents mentioned their faith as a driving force to move forward and help each other pick up the pieces.
Vanessa Cooper, 40, was trying to salvage what she could from her mother’s apartment, of which only two walls remained.
Nearby, three friends cleared away twisted debris while Cooper rummaged through damaged furniture.
“Some people from my church came to help … It means a lot to me,” she said, adding that she couldn’t have done it alone.
“I don’t know what the future brings, but God brought me through a lot in life.”
Solidarity comes naturally in small communities, Cooper said, as a neighbor asked if she needed anything.
Mayfield, a town of 10,000, “has always been close,” said Cooper, who works at the local technical high school. “We show a lot of love to each other.”
– ‘I have nothing’ –
Sitting on a chair in front of what was left of his house, Marty Janes stared blankly as volunteers worked around him.
A short distance from downtown Mayfield, his neighborhood was devastated by the twister. A tree fell on his front porch, his roof collapsed, and the exterior front walls were torn off.
“I’m devasted, it’s unbelievable,” Janes said.
He was trapped in the back of his house, while his wife, Theresa, was in the bedroom as their ceiling collapsed.
After their rescue by firefighters, the couple were separated for two days while Theresa was hospitalized, Janes said with tears in his eyes.
He didn’t want his wife to see the damage to their house, now uninhabitable.
“I have nothing,” said the 59-year-old, who managed to recover only an old photo of his college graduation and two American flags, which he put up in front of the ruined house.
Friends came to help him clean, but the task is immense. Young volunteers from the church also came to the rescue, cutting out the interior walls and partitions with saws, and clearing the rooms of unusable furniture and equipment.
Others cut up and removed the tree lying on the house.
– ‘Need help’ –
Faced with a number of now-homeless people, several places of worship are now acting as shelters.
In Paducah, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of Mayfield, Pastor Hank Garner opened his Lone Oak Baptist Church to house those in need and serve as a donations collection point.
“Folks just started pulling together everything they thought that we would need,” the pastor told AFP, as water and power remained cut off in Mayfield.
Among the donations were warm clothes, blankets, baby supplies, bottles of water and food.
Finding shelter at the church, Randy Guennel said, was a miracle.
The 79-year-old retiree survived two days with his sick wife in their house.
On Sunday, he wrote “Need help” on a pizza box and put it in his mailbox.
“Some wonderful people from this church stopped. They brought us here,” he told AFP, choking back sobs.
