Kentucky miracle: Mom and her 10 kids survive powerful twister that pummels home
A mother and 10 of her children were in their two-story Central Kentucky home Friday morning when a powerful tornado and its estimated 115 mph winds surprised the unsuspecting family.
Within seconds, their home was lifted and tossed like a child’s toy into a nearby valley just below their property. The only thing left was the concrete slab it sat on.
Miraculously, everyone survived.
“Everything is down in the valley, all their belongings went down there,” said Mahlon Girod, pastor of Bethel Christian Fellowship, the family’s Washington County church.
“It’s very traumatic for the whole family.”
The 14-member family has not yet been identified.
The severe storm hit the area shortly after 7 a.m., according to Washington County Emergency Manager Kevin Devine. A 48-year-old man died and seven other people were injured from the weather system.
Authorities have said there is no tornado siren in the area.
When Girod arrived about 45 minutes after the tornado hit, he found the uninjured family members soaked and cold from the heavy rain. Other members of the family had already been transported to a hospital but have since been released except one.
“They were still not fully dressed, they were trying to stay warm, they had been soaked,” Girod said.
“They were just in a daze, and they were telling me how all of a sudden the wind came, and before they knew it, they were out in the yard.”
One of the children, a 3-year-old girl, was initially missing after the storm hit. Girod said she was found under a tree crying.
Back at the site of the family’s former home, members of the family’s church rolled up sleeves and began doing what they could to help.
Girod was the first church member to arrive after the family’s father asked for help.
Many others followed and joined the recovery effort. They corralled the family’s livestock, saved the family’s freezer meat and began the cleanup process.
“We’re part of the same church. We’re part of one body in Christ. We help each other,” Girod said.
“If one person has a tornado, we all want to be there. It doesn’t take any effort on our part, we just naturally come help.”
Another nearby family has an extra house and is providing a place to stay for the now-homeless family. They anticipate being there for a few weeks.
In the meantime, there is another home on the family’s property that is nearly built. It was mostly unscratched from Friday’s tornado and is almost ready to be moved into.
“We want to work on that, get it liveable for them to come back,” Girod said.
This story was originally published May 30, 2025 at 5:36 PM.
