Kentucky tornado recovery continues, with charities and government providing aid

Hari Sreenivasan:

The tornadoes that swept through the midsouth region one week ago left thousands homeless and killed at least 77 people in Kentucky alone. It was the single worst tornado disaster in that state's history.

This weekend, charities, churches and government agencies are focused on helping those who need shelter and supplies.

For an update, I spoke with Liam Niemeyer, assistant news director at public radio station WKMS.

Liam, it's been a week since we spoke. And I know you've been reporting the entire time about this crisis. Tell me what you've seen in the last week in terms of relief efforts and trying to make people whole.

Liam Niemeyer:

A lot of that has been through grassroots efforts by the churches, but increasingly there has been national organizations that have been coming in and helping out. But also increasingly, we're also starting to see a federal presence too. The other day, there was a couple of mobile registration sites that FEMA had set up for people to start applying for FEMA aid, you know, and various information distributed on how to qualify, how to apply, things of that nature.

Because just in the fact that FEMA hasn't been to this region, there hasn't been a major disaster in this region in quite some time. So the process is new for everyone. And so there's still a large cleanup process going on, which of course, President Joe Biden said that the federal government would cover the next 30 days of cleanup cost, presumably through FEMA.

Hari Sreenivasan:

When we see photographs that you've taken, we see gymnasiums that have turned into just a giant bedroom for people. What is that scene like? How many people are in these places, in these temporary shelters now?

Liam Niemeyer:

We're talking about dozens of people. The Kentucky state parks, which are also offering lodging and, you know, state resort parks, which would normally serve as vacation spots for Kentuckians, have been turned into emergency lodging. And hundreds of people as of right now are in these state lodges, not only in western Kentucky but in other parts of the state. And you know, and also school facilities, both with the Mayfield School District and the county school district, Graves County, have turned into these resource hubs. They've turned into places where people can get hot meals and showers. And, you know, of course, school districts in small towns have always been central to the community and even more so.

You know, a lot of the reporting I've done has been with these school officials who know their community and know their community well and know what the needs of their community are, especially during a crisis like this. So, you know, school facilities, physical buildings and schools and school staff have become paramount during this time.

Hari Sreenivasan:

You even profiled a coach who basically went out and looked for his players.

Liam Niemeyer:

I rode along with him for most of the day earlier this week, and he deals with students who are having trouble in the classroom or having behavioral issues or just need some more support outside of the classroom. And he works with about 50 or 60 students, builds relationships with these students and in the community.

And as we're driving along, the first thing that comes to mind for him when he sees these destroyed homes are, you know, the students where he knows that lives in these destroyed neighborhoods, lives in these homes, the students who needed help before the storm and are going to need even more help now.

Hari Sreenivasan:

Some of these people are going to need, not just short term housing, but medium to long term if there is nothing left of their homes.

Liam Niemeyer:

You know, you mentioned the coach. One of the things that was on his mind was just from the fact that Mayfield is a diverse community. It's also an impoverished community, you know, with a poverty rate three times the national average. And a lot of these people, you know, were renting their homes. Many may not have renter's insurance. And so they may not have much to go back to. And in terms of where are they going to be living? You know, I presume that FEMA's going to play a large role in trying to connect people with housing.

But in far western Kentucky, there wasn't much of affordable housing to begin with. You know, this is a pretty rural region where there wasn't a lot of construction in terms of residential housing, especially affordable housing to begin with. And there's just a dearth. And now there's even more so after this catastrophic tornado.

Hari Sreenivasan:

Liam Niemeyer of WKMS Public Radio joining us from Kentucky. Thanks so much.

Liam Niemeyer:

Thank you, Hari.