LAUREL COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — Nearly six months after an EF-4 tornado devastated parts of Laurel County, many residents are still working to rebuild their lives. For Carla Kennett and her husband, Clay, who lost their home of 33 years behind the London Corbin Airport, the recovery process has become a full-time job.
"You just can't explain how terrifying it was," Carla said. "I was telling him to tell my children I loved him. I was certain I was gonna be gone."
The tornado destroyed the home where the Kennetts had built decades of memories.
"I heard all the wind and a board came through my kitchen window, and I just ran and got on the couch and covered my head up with pillows and blankets, got as small as I could, and it ripped the roof off right above me," Kennett said.
The timing made the loss even more difficult for the family.
"What made it worse is I had just lost my dad six months before," Kennett said. "You're still grieving that, and then this, I mean it, it takes an emotional toll on you."
The couple was forced to live in a camper for three months before moving into an apartment. The situation was particularly frustrating because they had just finished renovating their home.
"And in just a matter of what, 33 seconds, I think they said it was, it was gone," Carla said.
33 seconds from the time she first heard the wind, to when debris ripped through her roof.
With the holidays approaching, the Kennetts' thoughts turn to their children and the space they no longer have to gather as a family.
"Not having the space that they can come and be comfortable, you know? And so that's, that's what's really bothering me right now," Carla said.
Despite the challenges, the experience has brought essential lessons about what truly matters in life.
"You really don't found out what's I mean, what you got in life until you go through this, what's the most important?" she said. "Material things don't mean a whole lot to me anymore."
The Kennetts are hoping their new house will be ready by March. Contractors started pouring the foundation in September.
