Meet KY Tornado Survivors – The Christie Family

Kathy Christie is a single mom who lives in Russellville, KY with her twin daughters and niece. In December 2021, tragedy struck when the family’s home was hit by a tornado.

As the tornado swept through their home, the girls and Kathy huddled in the bathroom to stay safe. Recounting her first moments after the storm, Kathy said, “the first thing I saw was the porch was gone, the HVAC unit was turned over, the trees were on top of all of our cars, the trees were down all in the yard, the roof was half gone, I mean it was just a total wreck out here.”

Further assessment of the house revealed broken windows, flooding in the laundry room, living room and kitchen and extensive water damage to the walls in the laundry room. To make matters worse, the family was without power for the next six days. This led to the family losing all the food they had in their refrigerator and freezer.

Kathy, who was already struggling to make ends meet due to a work injury to her back that put her on full disability, was now faced with the task of fixing a home destroyed by a tornado. It was clear that the number of repairs needed was more than she and the girls could handle alone.

After nearly losing faith in life and people, Kathy was able to experience a glimmer of hope when she received a call from Operation Blessing staff saying they were on their way to help.

?“I can’t even explain in words how they filled the gap,” said Kathy. “When I see Operation Blessing doing the work, it shows me that there’s still good people in this world that will help people out when they are in need.”?

Through the support of The Home Depot Foundation, Operation Blessing’s disaster relief staff got to work clearing debris, removing damaged parts of the home, and replacing damaged walls from the insulation to the baseboards. The team added a fresh coat of paint, new kitchen cabinets, closet doors, flooring and a new washer and dryer. As an added bonus, certified sustainable materials were used for drywall, paint and dryer.

In response to the generosity of Operation Blessing partners, Kathy stated

“I really, really, really appreciate everything they have done for me.”

We are thankful to be a part of making stories like these possible through our invaluable partnerships! Follow us on Instagram @OperationBlessing to see the latest updates from our Kentucky disaster relief efforts.