Memorial Day 2024 was not a relaxing three-day weekend for many in the United States. Those living in many central and Southern states experienced powerful storms and tornadoes. One Kentucky family’s property was destroyed for the second time.
Devin Johnson, his girlfriend Haley Loukota, and his grandparents live in Barnsley, Kentucky. Over the weekend, their home was hit with a tornado again after having been hit previously in 2021. The family cannot believe it happened a second time.
“We never thought that it would happen again,” Devin explained to the Associated Press. “All we know for sure is we’re not going back here. It’s going to have so many memories of us losing everything.”
The last time this occurred was in December 2021. That tornado outbreak killed 81 people in the state. Devin and his family passed the storm in their trailer and were not injured.
Devin went on to explain what that was like. “You start hearing a roar and then the entire house started shaking,” he recalled. “The power started flickering and the windows just shattered. And then all of sudden you just feel the wind and pressure and this roar just ripping through the house and it starts tugging on you and trying to drag you out.” It was a scary experience to say the least.
In 2021, the family was able to dig through the wreckage and save some meaningful keepsakes. They saved up money to furnish their new trailer. This time around, their belongings were scattered around.
Devin and his family did not ride out the storm in 2024 in their trailer. Instead, they went to family member's home in nearby Madisonville, Kentucky. They had a bad feeling about how things were going to turn out. They “all had that feeling that [they] just lost everything again.”
Unfortunately, their instincts were correct. “There was just nothing,” Devin recalled. “This time, everything that we have is gone.”
Devin isn't exactly sure what happens next. “Right now we have no money,” he explained. “So we’re just trying to figure out how to go next.” Devin and Haley had been saving for a home in Madisonville but will most likely live with his grandparents for a while to get back on their feet.
Devin's family is just one of many impacted by the storms over the Memorial Day weekend. Because of them, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency on May 26, 2024. At least 24 people have died because of the storms.
