MILTON, Ky. — The town of Milton is still recovering after an EF-2 tornado crossed the Ohio River and turned onto Route 36, hitting roughly 90 structures and causing nearly $2 million in damages, according to Trimble County Emergency Management Director Andrew Stark.
In the week since the March 14 storm, the community has worked feverishly to clear trees from roadways, shovel debris into large industrial dumpsters and attempt to repair their homes.
Cheryl Roth spent Friday attempting to replace some of the windows that were left shattered when the tornado passed right over her home.
"You could see the trees lifting up out of the ground from the roots and just splitting," Roth said. "It looked like, in the middle of the chaos, just like silk ripping, the way the trees were ripping apart and going everywhere. There were bricks flying."
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Roth said she took cover in the center of her home instead of seeking shelter because she'd ignored warnings the storm could be severe.
"It literally went from my backyard just through my driveway. I don't know how it didn't go right through my home," she said.
Stark said the EMA suspended their initial emergency response and recovery efforts Friday, but said they would continue to help those in the affected region recover.
He said around 250 volunteers — including many students from the Trimble County middle and high schools — had been working to clear debris and help weatherproof damaged homes.
"They were awesome," Roth said. "They cleaned up my backyard, the trees, his backyard, his backyard, came and got the debris off everything."
Stark said muscle wouldn't be able to solve all of the community's problems, however, as some homes are uninhabitable, some are still without power and others have no ability to pay for repairs.
"A lot of the people that lived there had no insurance or were already low income," he said.
Stark said accounts for storm victims have been established at the Bedford Bank in Bedford and Milton's Farmers Bank.
He also called on contractors or electricians who are willing to work for free or at a significant discount to contact the Trimble County EMA as many in the region could use help with repairs or connection to power with little ability to pay.
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