Kartik Patel has lived in Lyon County his whole life. In that time, he has never seen anything like the damage caused by severe storms that ripped through western Kentucky late Friday night into early Saturday morning.
“This one of those storms that people are saying is a historical one,” Patel said. “And I believe it because, like I said, I’ve never seen this before in my life.”
Patel is a real estate agent and small business owner in the area. He drove around the area near Lake Barkley to survey the storm damage.
“What I’ve seen is just a lot of debris, houses have been destroyed,” Patel said.
He described that houses with less severe damage had shingles missing from roofs and siding ripped off.
“But for the ones that have more severe damage, you’re gonna see broken windows, tree falling through,” Patel said. “You’re seeing a ton of trees completely demolished.”
The damaged trees have not only affected homes and cars, but knocked down utility lines as well. Thousands are without power.
“It’s kind of like a monster just coming through and chewing through an area,” Patel said.
Patel’s personal property didn’t get damaged during the storm. He was about two miles from where the greatest damage occurred.
From his door, he said he could see the storm rolling in and lights beginning to flicker as power went out.
While out today, he tried his best to help people in need. He saw an older man who couldn’t get out of his driveway because a tree blocked his path. Patel said he helped move the tree so the man could leave his home, which had lost power.
“There’s a lot of things you can do to help, whether that’s going to community centers and donating or just going out and doing what I’m doing, going out and asking people,” Patel said.
Utility officials say people who encounter downed lines should assume they are live and not touch them.
