BARNSLEY, Kentucky – Devin Johnson’s life was uprooted for the second time when a tornado leveled his home over Memorial Day weekend, on the same lot in Kentucky where another tornado left him homeless in 2021.
What you need to know
- A tornado leveled Devin Johnson’s home over Memorial Day weekend on the same lot where another tornado left him homeless in 2021.
- It was a very familiar scene for the 21-year-old’s family, as their previous home in Barnsley was destroyed in the December 2021 storms that killed 81 people.
- A powerful tornado with winds of up to 165 mph hit Barnsley on Sunday, the National Weather Service said.
- Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky., declared a state of emergency over Sunday’s storms and reported five deaths statewide.
- A tornado leveled Devin Johnson’s home over Memorial Day weekend on the same lot where another tornado left him homeless in 2021.
- It was a very familiar scene for the 21-year-old’s family, as their previous home in Barnsley was destroyed in the December 2021 storms that killed 81 people.
- A powerful tornado with winds of up to 165 mph hit Barnsley on Sunday, the National Weather Service said.
- Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky., declared a state of emergency over Sunday’s storms and reported five deaths statewide.
Johnson, 21, watched Tuesday as workers used chainsaws to cut down the remains of the trailer he called home with his grandparents and girlfriend. It was a scene all too familiar to his family.
Their previous home in the small western Kentucky community of Barnsley was destroyed by another tornado during a terrifying night of storms 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 is one thing they have decided, he said.
Sticks and debris surround a tornado-damaged pickup truck in Hopkins County, Kentucky. (Spectrum News 1/Jonathon Gregg)
“The only thing we know for sure is we’re not coming back here,” Johnson said. “He will have many memories of us losing everything.”
A powerful tornado with winds of up to 165 mph hit Barnsley on Sunday (165 mph) and carved a destructive path across nearly 36 miles (58 kilometers) of Kentucky, the National Weather Service said.
Multiple rounds of severe storms hit the region and damage investigation teams were assessing the destruction to determine how many tornadoes touched down. Another powerful storm on Sunday barely missed the town of Mayfield, where a painstaking recovery from a tornado that hit the town in 2021 continues.
Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky., declared a state of emergency over Sunday’s storms and reported five deaths statewide. The governor toured storm-hit areas of western Kentucky on Monday.
In Barnsley, the tornado devastated a section of the storm-weary community. A house next to Johnson’s trailer was leveled, another was blown off its foundation and the roof was ripped off another house.
Johnson’s family fled before the tornado hit and took shelter with a relative in nearby Madisonville. Watching the weather alerts as the storm moved towards Barnsley, they had a sinking feeling, she said.
“We all felt like we had lost everything again,” he said.
This is all that remains of a home in Hopkins County after a tornado and severe weather hit on May 26, 2024. (Spectrum News 1/Jonathon Gregg)
Later, as he was driving home, emergency vehicles sped past him. When she turned the corner into his neighborhood, “there was just nothing” as she approached his family’s lot.
In 2021, Johnson’s family weathered the storm in their trailer. With no basement, Johnson huddled in the kitchen, clinging desperately to a table with her grandparents, sister and his boyfriend. His uncle and his aunt covered themselves with a mattress in the hallway.
“You started hearing a roar and then the whole house started shaking,” he recalled. “The electricity started flickering and the windows just shattered. And then all of a sudden you feel the wind and the pressure and this roar that rips through the house and starts pulling at you and trying to drag you out.”
Everyone was unharmed, but the trailer was destroyed. From the rubble they rescued some belongings, including a beloved statue of Jesus and Mary that his grandmother had for decades, Johnson said. They recovered some family mementos, including photographs.
Johnson’s family furnished their new trailer in stages once they raised enough money, he said. But after the last tornado, the family’s home and belongings were scattered throughout the neighborhood.
“This time, everything we have is gone,” he said.
Later that day, they found an engagement ring that had 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 the tragedy occurred. But his situation is as serious as the first time.
“Right now we don’t have any money,” Johnson said. “So we’re just trying to figure out how to proceed next.”
He stays in a motel in Madisonville and his family helps him with expenses.
The plan is to move to Madisonville. He and his girlfriend have saved money since the 2021 storm in hopes of getting their own house, but for now they will likely live with his grandparents, he said. Johnson works in a warehouse in Madisonville and his girlfriend works in a local factory.
“It’s been very tight since then with all the bills we’ve had to pass,” he said.
After seeing the immense force of the 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.
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