Video footage has captured the complete devastation experienced in Mayfield, Kentucky, which was once a picturesque town in the Midwestern US, after tornadoes rampaged through several states last week.
The homes of about 10,000 residents were reduced to just rubble, according to drone footage captured in Mayfield on Saturday morning. Photographer Brandon Clement shared his video of the “complete destruction” with the American NPR media organization, calling it “the horrific sight at first light.”
Russian Telegram channel Mash posted more aerial footage from the town in southwestern Kentucky. The remains of bare tree trunks stood out in the gloomy light along with other debris, while cars could be seen overturned, and gaping holes were visible in the roofs of tall buildings.
READ MORE: 100+ feared killed in ‘worst tornado outbreak’ in US history
Sharing her experience of the tornado that left a 200-mile trail of destruction on Friday, Mayfield Mayor Kathy Stewart O’Nan told RT’s video agency Ruptly that she heard a sound she hoped never to hear again. After emerging from a basement, she witnessed “the complete devastation of this town.”
Other residents also recalled the horror, talking about loud noises and “all the metal from all the buildings [swirling] in the tornado.”
One woman shared the experience of her neighbors, who took cover in a concrete garage after sirens in the city had gone off and their house started to shake. “What happened is the whole house collapsed around it and they actually got trapped inside the garage,” she said, adding that the next day she saw the family “crawling out, screaming, terrified.”
“We knew it was going to be bad, but not sure how bad,” another resident told Ruptly. He said the storm had brought “total devastation” to the town, calling it the worst in the area in over a century. The community is now “just praying, coming together and helping each other.”
We are going to be totally rebuilding it from the ground up… We are just heartbroken.
Dubbed “likely to be one of the largest tornado outbreaks in our history” by US President Joe Biden, the storm ripped through six US states. The most devastating tornado traveled more than 227 miles (365km) across Kentucky, possibly killing over 100 people. The president officially declared a federal disaster emergency in the area.