Relief groups from Georgia begin to arrive to help those impacted by Kentucky tornadoes

BENTON, Ky. — The cleanup efforts are intensifying after a deadly tornado outbreak that devastated the area from Arkansas to Kentucky.

At least 88 people are now confirmed dead, ranging in age from 2 months to 98 years old.

At least 100 people are still missing across multiple states.

Officials in Mayfield, Kentucky, said Tuesday they are now confident there are no other victims at a candle factory where eight died.

Channel 2′s Tony Thomas went to that area following the storms. Tuesday, he spent the day in Benton, Kentucky.

Thomas said the damage is devastating. Some people who lived in the area told Thomas they are alive thanks in part to a plan to take cover, some 40 years in the making.

Ronnie Runkle’s home is scattered across several acres in the West Kentucky town.

“It was just so intense and so fast,” Runkle said about the storm. “I don’t know how it did it, it just separated my room.”

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Runkle, along with his wife, daughter and 15 other relatives, hid in his uncle’s basement as the storm hit Friday.

“The men were kind of outside the closet and the women and children were inside the closet. A lot of crying and praying,” said family member Carl Bivins.

Following the storm, few walls are standing from the home. But the family says they will rebuild.

And they’re getting help from Georgia.

The Woodstock-based Sirens Project arrived Tuesday to help with some heavy lifting. Forest Park firefighter Brett Boyle downed trees.

“It’s a lot more damage than we expected,” Boyle said. “It’s just a kind of pay it forward ahead of time.”

“We’ve had outpouring after outpouring of folks just coming and loving on us and helping us,” Russell Bivins said.

The Sirens Project plans on staying in parts of Kentucky through the weekend.

They are just one of several volunteer groups from Georgia arriving to lend a helping hand.

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Cleanup continues after tornadoes ravage Kentucky Nearly 100 people have died as a result of the tornadoes, the youngest being just two months old.

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