LAUREL COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — This Saturday marks one year since deadly tornadoes killed 20 people in eastern Kentucky, injured several others, and displaced a number of families.
For Carla and Clay Kennett of Laurel County, the reminder has brought a mix of emotions — even as they settle into the new home they built on the same property where they lived for more than 30 years.
"At the beginning of the week, I just wanted to crawl in bed and just stay there till the 16th is over, and just not think about it, because you're thinking, is that kind of conditions happening this year?" Carla said.
The tornado changed the Kennetts' lives in an instant.
"In a matter of seconds, you were — it was like you were in some kind of wind tunnel and noises that I had never heard," Carla said.
"I didn't really see a whole lot other than a board come through the kitchen window. Once the board came through the kitchen window, I didn't see anything else, until I took the covers and pillows off my head and looked up and I was looking at the sky," Carla said.
Rather than let the devastation define them, the couple got to work immediately. The day after the tornado, contractors were already on the property.
"Within a week, everything moved out, getting the ground ready to start to build," Clay said.
The Kennetts had lived in a doublewide on their property for more than 30 years. When they were forced to rebuild, they made sure to pour a foundation for their new home — the only home their children ever knew.
The road wasn't without doubt. Carla said there were moments she wanted to walk away entirely.
"I wanted to give up. I told him, I said, let's just forget it. Let's just buy a house somewhere, let's just stay in this apartment. We'll make do. But you can't just give up," Carla said.
Now, with unpacking nearly complete and plans to get grass down in the backyard, the Kennetts say they have no regrets about staying.
"It all just goes back to the goodness of God. You just pray and ask him to guide you and help you and be strong, and strengthen you, and you just keep going. You just get up every morning with that desire and that drive just to keep going," Carla said.
Clay summed up the experience simply.
"You don't realize what you've got till it's gone," he said.
