Published: April 15, 2008 03:47 pm            

Tornado rips through county

Monticello — Rain poured down Friday afternoon as Bobby Carrender stood a few feet

from his demolished mobile home on Furnace Mountain Road. He had weathered

the tornado that traveled almost nine miles through Wayne County at a

neighbor's house and had come home to survey the damage.

There was little left to salvage, but there was a lot to be grateful

for. Carrender was not hurt and he had found his dog, unharmed, near the

ruins of his home.

Carrender's home was one of nine destroyed in Wayne County. A total of

32 residences sustained damage in the tornado that devastated areas across

the county, according to Wayne County Emergency Management Director Bubby

Corder.

Those figures don't include the numerous barns and outbuildings that

were destroyed in the storm that weather officials have confirmed was an

EF-2 tornado, packing winds of approximately 130 miles an hour. Corder said

that at one point the storm was approximately one-quarter mile wide.

The storm, which hit Wayne County at about 1:50 p.m. Friday, traveled

along a path that began near the Clinton County Speedway at the county line.

Points along the path included Massengale Road, Old Bethel Road, Ragan Road,

and Furnace Mountain Road. The last known point where damage was reported

was Spann Hill. Memorial Park also sustained damage in the storm.

"It happened so quickly," said Corder. "A lot of people didn't realize

we had even had a tornado."

Corder and Assistant EMS Director Dewayne Perkins had received a call

from the National Weather Service at about 1:35 p.m. Friday. Weather

officials informed them there was a storm near the Wayne-Clinton County line

that had some severe rotation.

"They felt like it was going to develop into a tornado," said Corder. At

that point, weather alerts went out regarding a tornado warning and the

emergency sirens in Wayne County were activated.

As the storm traveled its path, it took electric and telephone lines

with it. There was no way that people affected by the tornado could actually

call emergency officials. Wayne County Sheriff Charles Boston said he

actually drove up to the damage before he realized what had happened.

Boston said the got a call from a Fish and Wildlife officer who informed

him that traffic was backed up on KY 90 near the Slat community. He drove to

find out what the problem was and discovered a tree across the roadway, as

well as damage to homes and buildings along both sides of road.

Emergency officials then began going door-to-door to make sure that no

one was hurt. Corder said there were no serious injuries as a result of the

storm. Crews from Wayne County EMS, the Monticello Fire Department, the

Wayne County Rescue Squad, and the Wayne County Sheriff's Department were

dispatched to different areas.

Corder and County Judge-Executive Greg Rankin headed out to survey the

damage and to make decisions regarding organization of the emergency effort.

Wayne County PVA Bobby Upchurch and his staff became instrumental in helping

with this step. Corder said that Upchurch provided GIS maps, which emergency

crews could use to mark areas where damage had been reported. This help to

determine the path of the storm.

"Once we found out the path of the storm, we could go back into those

areas and do a more thorough search," explained Corder.

Officials with the Red Cross and the Salvation Army called Friday

offering assistance to any of the storm victims needing shelter. Corder said

that for the most part people affected by the storm had a place to stay that

night.

"We were fortunate that most people were either at work, had come into

town, or had gone to a friend or neighbor's home," said Corder. He noted

that if the storm had come through later in the evening, when people were at

home, it could have been a very different result.

Rankin signed an executive order Friday evening declaring a State of

Emergency in Wayne County. On Saturday, emergency officials, along with

Rankin, gathered at the Wayne County Courthouse to begin the damage

assessment phase. Four teams were set up and assigned quadrants to visit for

damage assessment.

Also a representative from the National Weather Service visited damage

sites on Saturday and determined the strength of the storm. Corder said that

this assessment was based on the debris field, as well as the extent of the

damage to structures.

Monday morning, local officials were still working to try to gather all

the information needed to try to get financial assistance for those who

sustained storm-damage. No exact dollar figure for damage is available yet.

"Everybody is okay, which is the greatest thing," said Rankin. "Our

first goal was to make sure that everybody was safe, and then we wanted to

make sure people had a place to stay."

Now, Rankin said his administration is working to try to get some

financial help to those who need it. For example, he has talked with USDA

officials regarding the possibility of low-interest loan funding for farmers

who have sustained losses in the storm.

Both Corder and Rankin were pleased with the way emergency services

worked together during the crisis.

"Everybody did an unbelievable job, from the EMS, to the Fire

Department, to the Rescue Squad and the Sheriff's deputies," said Rankin.

"They were stretched then with the storm and some wrecks...Everybody stepped

in and works as long as it took. It was a long hard weekend for a lot of

people."

"We all really pitched in together as a team," said Corder. "I'm really

proud of our community took. Neighbors were pitching in and helping each

other. It's great to know we live in a place where people will come and

help."

Corder said one problem they encountered, particularly Friday afternoon

after the storm hit, was the number of onlookers who traveled along West KY

90 trying to see the damage. At one point, he said traffic was backed up

from Monticello to the Otter Creek Bridge.

"That really created problems for us...There were so many people out, we

had to worry about people being in the way," he said.

        

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