Mayfield, Kentucky, December 13 (Reuters)-Neighbors across Kentucky provide shelter to friends who have lost their homes due to the deadly tornado. Strangers show up with chainsaws to clear fallen trees, and restaurants give those without water. Or power.

As the state unearthed from a series of devastating tornadoes, which killed at least 74 people and destroyed or damaged 1,000 homes, good deeds appeared on Monday in large and small ways.

Many people rushed to the hard-hit Mayfield, a working-class agricultural and manufacturing community of 10,000 people in western Kentucky. Residents said everyone knew each other and families were often passed on from generation to generation.

Terra Utley's colleagues at SRM Concrete acted immediately after the tornado destroyed her home there. On Sunday, they handed firewood and a large pot of beef stew to Utley, who has been a concrete truck driver for the company since June.

On Monday, nine colleagues helped her screen the debris to save her remaining possessions. They took out Christmas gifts and family souvenirs from under the collapsed roof and walls, and pried open her car door, which was partially buried under her house.

32-year-old Utley said in the buzz of the chainsaw: “For them, they take time out to help me every day, which means the whole world to me.”

41-year-old Ricky Murphy said that when the storm passed and he came from Louisville, Kentucky, he could hardly recognize his hometown, see his mother and siblings, and participate in the cleanup work.

The city’s water tower is part of its flat landscape and has been razed to the ground. Many historical buildings in its small city center, some dating back to the 19th century, have been razed to the ground.

By Monday, Murphy was helping to distribute clothes, food, and supplies outside Fairview Baptist Church, where the black church where he grew up was, and temporary donation centers had sprung up.

"People donate shoes, people donate clothes they own, people donate money, resources, houses, or whatever else they own," he said of the generosity he witnessed.

On December 13, 2021, Mayfield, Kentucky, U.S., 37-year-old Jeremiah Barker (Jeremiah Barker) hugs his 32-year-old fiance Terra Utley (Terra Utley) while watching their family In a pile of rubble after the tornado. REUTERS/Cheney Orr

A similar scene was staged in Kentucky, where officials said it might take a week or more to count the death toll and damage tolls that swept the state and several other tornadoes later on Friday.

Andy Kasitz, assistant director of parks at Kentucky State Parks Resorts, said that Governor Andy Beshear called on volunteers to help displaced people living in state park resorts to wash dishes and clothes. This triggered Received a large number of calls from all over the country.

Approximately 30,000 donations totaling more than US$4 million have been injected into the State Tornado Relief Fund. The governor stated that the first funds will be used to pay for funeral expenses, adding that each family will receive $5,000, and the state government will require funeral homes to limit the expenses to this amount.

Hickory & Oak steakhouse owner Josh Poling said that in Bowling Green, about 135 miles (217 kilometers) east of Mayfield, by Monday afternoon, the restaurant had collected more than $50,000 in gift cards. Used to provide free meals for tornado victims.

Katina Miner, a 40-year-old lawyer, said four black walnut and maple trees that collapsed during the storm destroyed half of her home near downtown Bowling Green.

After staying with friends for two nights, she arrived at her house on Monday and found about 15 people, some of them with chainsaws and others with fallen limbs, cleaning her family's property.

"Some neighbors, some from the church, and some we don't even know," Mina said. "Through all this, we are really lucky. Things can be changed. We are safe."

Back in Mayfield, on Monday, 59-year-old Tammie Bugg and members of her church First Baptist stood on a busy street corner and poured coffee on every passing car. In front of the windows of cars and emergency vehicles.

Many of the recipients are exhausted emergency rescuers who have been working all weekend. Coffee is a small gesture that makes them smile.

"This is what we need," Bugg said.

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