Tornadoes in the USA: the city of Mayfield, Kentucky, razed to the ground. Caritas relief efforts and solidarity

Ground Zero. That's how the residents of Mayfield, Kentucky, have described the devastation caused by four tornadoes that razed the city of about 10,000 inhabitants to the ground on Friday night and swept through Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri and Illinois. Ground zero, like the rubble left behind by the 11 September attack on the Twin Towers in 2001, and similarly laden with anguish, impotence and heartbreaking pain.

Deaths. Rubble. Trees ripped from the ground. Buildings razed. Windows, rooftops torn off, doors swept away and reduced to rubble. Twisted metal sheeting, downed power lines and wrecked vehicles. It' s Mayfield's Ground Zero, comparable to the destruction on earth's surface above the epicentre of an atomic blast. But in this case the damage was not caused by a bomb, but by a tornado that reached wind speeds of 320 kilometres per hour, causing death and devastation. Courtney and her five children found shelter in the parish hall of St Jerome's Church in Farm, a few kilometres from Mayfield. She heard her children crying out with horror as they cowered in the bathtub while the roof, windows, furniture and other belongings were thrown into the air. Within minutes Courtney found herself homeless and with her husband crushed by the collapse of a candle factory where an estimated 70 people died. There were 110 workers on Friday night and only 40 were left alive. The woman kept Mark awake and alert for hours as rescuers struggled to save him. “I also prayed with him on the phone.”

“I never stopped talking to him, I kept telling him that God would resolve everything. Be strong, don't give up, keep fighting." Courtney endlessly repeated these consoling words. Mark survived and is now recovering in the county hospital, suffering numerous fractures but alive and with family.

The shelter in the bathroom, and more importantly the prayers, said Judge Bishop, saved him and his family, but they did not spare the courthouse where he works, ripped apart and with some of its walls partially shattered. Local residents urged people to collect and preserve the stones used for the construction of the building, as it is considered a historical monument. On Saturday, but especially on Sunday, people started to take stock of the damage (over 6,000 residents are left without electricity), tracked down family and friends, and started undertaking clean up and reconstruction efforts.

Bob Waldridge, pastor of Yahweh Baptist Church, never stopped hoping that his church could be rebuilt. On Sunday, the sad truth: the building cannot be restored. "When the winds whipped up, whatever was in the atrium was swept into the back of the church," Waldridge said, adding that the violent winds "knocked out the back wall of the church, and tore off the roof." On Saturday, together with some of his parishioners he packed chairs, pews and sound equipment into a trailer, hoping for a return. Unfortunately, the damage was severe and it will not be possible to return until after reconstruction works. Yesterday, another church that was partly spared from the fury of the winds offered its hall for Sunday services and a collection was started to help rebuild and support the many families in the community who have lost everything.

“Due to the extent of the damage, we have no way to restore this building that we called our home for nine years," the pastor remarked, asking for help to save what the winds and heavy rainfall have spared or partially damaged. In the meantime, both Caritas and the national fund set up on Saturday - with more than two million dollars raised in just a few hours - are receiving financial aid. The first amounts will be used to support funeral expenses, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said, announcing that two children, a five-year-old and a three-year-old, were among the victims.

Bishop William Medley, Catholic bishop of the Owensboro diocese which Mayfield falls under, said that many of those injured in the candle factory collapse were parishioners, and many others were immigrants or people living on the margins of our communities. The bishop voiced his gratitude to all those who generously offered their services and material aid to the displaced as well as prompt financial assistance in response to "the terrible devastation and suffering of the families."

“In a joint statement, Archbishop José H. Gomez, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, said: "It is heartbreaking to see the destruction and devastation wrought by the tornadoes that have swept through the South and Midwest." They assured prayers "for those who have been injured, for those who have lost their lives, and for their grieving families and communities," and commended in a special way to God the emergency responders and those who have begun the work of providing for the needs of the impacted in these communities in the recovery efforts.

Firefighters were the first to arrive to rescue guests at a retirement home whose wall collapsed, crushing one of the residents. All other residents were brought to safety, while searches for the missing are ongoing, as the tornadoes were in the strong and violent categories (EF3) of events that can cause severe damage.
Maddalena Maltese, from New York