Success StoryTornado Resiliency Project



Tornado Resiliency Project

Author: Joshua Jackson

Planning Unit: Biosystems & Agr Engineering

Major Program: Emergency Disaster Preparedness

Outcome: Initial Outcome

December 10th and 11th saw an extremely rare string of tornadoes go thru the bluegrass state. Over 74 lives were lost, and multiple counties were affected by this devastating outbreak. The resilience exhibited by Kentuckians and others that night and the following days was collected as an oral history and saved for future generations by the Louis B Nunn Center. Interviews were conducted with individuals that experienced the destruction caused by the tornado, the National Weather Service, agricultural agents, agricultural specialists, Kentucky Department of Agriculture,  Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles,  1st responders, companies that supported farmers during the aftermath, and the governor Andy Beshear. With the tornadoes’ destruction of the UK Research and Education center at Princeton, the center’s Director Carrie Knott and Dean Nancy Cox were interviewed for how the college would move forward. This effort culminated in the UK Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering booth at the National Farm Machinery Show exhibiting disaster response equipment and emergency planning guides.