Finding Compassion and Community Amidst Disaster in Kentucky
Written by: Adriana DiBenedetto
Published #78 | Fall 2025 Issue
From May 15 to 16, 2025, a deadly tornado outbreak had been unleashed across areas of the Midwestern and Southeastern United States, with an EF4-rated tornado beginning its path across Somerset and London, Kentucky, in the late evening hours of May 16, 2025. Photo/Bornain Chiu
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As Tzu Chi volunteers drove under a gray, cloud-filled sky, they saw cars that were battered and crumpled, the remains of shattered trees, and personal appliances as large as washing machines that had been tossed about.
All around them, roofs collapsed into homes, and tarps were draped over exposed beams. A single wall and doorway were all that stood on the foundations of one home — the rest of the structure, once filled with memories and milestones, a long line of fractured wood. Many more homes had been completely swept away from their foundations.
Viewed from above, the path of the tornado was made tragically clear. Yet, amid these scenes of destruction, some had already begun to rebuild.
In the Footsteps of the Storm’s Ferocious Path
From May 15 to 16, 2025, a deadly tornado outbreak whirled across the Midwestern and Southeastern United States, with an EF4-rated tornado beginning its 60-mile path across Somerset and London, Kentucky, in the late evening hours of May 16, 2025. It inflicted catastrophic damage to homes and neighborhoods, and tragically claimed the lives of 19 people, including 17 in London, with over 100 more injured. This tornado was the deadliest in Eastern Kentucky on record, and as of 2025, it is one of three tornadoes to unleash EF4-rated damage in the state. The tornado damaged or destroyed 1,500 homes and caused $350 million in damage in Kentucky’s Laurel County alone.
On May 26, during the Memorial Day holiday, a team of three Tzu Chi volunteers from Tzu Chi USA’s Columbus Service Center in Ohio — Bornain Chiu, Henglin Wang, and Teh-Hong Lee — departed for Kentucky. The four-hour drive led the small team to the Red Cross Operations Center in London, where they would meet with Lynne Washbish, Executive Director of the American Red Cross Bluegrass Chapter, and veteran Red Cross volunteer Patty Flowers. Together, they would begin charting the path forward, reviewing and coordinating Tzu Chi’s assessment operation in collaboration with the Kentucky Red Cross. For both women, the days prior had been a whirlwind effort.
“With the constant floods and tornadoes, we had to come,” shared Washbish. As the two organizations exchanged their disaster response experiences and assessment photos, Flowers expressed relief at seeing Tzu Chi volunteers again, recalling their collaboration in North Carolina, and was comforted knowing that Tzu Chi would bring its care to Kentucky as well. Washbish also shared that she had previously partnered with Tzu Chi in Kentucky during supply distributions and holds great confidence in Tzu Chi’s capacity to lift up disaster-affected communities once again. According to Washbish, 20 to 25 Red Cross volunteers were local, while the rest had traveled from across the country to help. “We have about 109 on the ground right now,” Flowers added.
Before heading into the most severely affected neighborhoods, Flowers and Washbish briefed the Tzu Chi team on the situation, as well as the functions and divisions of a mobile operations center that had been set up in the hardest-hit area. They also shared touching stories of mutual aid from across the community. When Flowers reached out to churches to ask if they could open their doors as shelters, many responded, “We are full of supplies.” Time and again, when donations ran low, they were quickly replenished without hesitation.
“This spirit of mutual care was unlike anything I’ve seen elsewhere,” Flowers reflected. “Everyone looked out for one another.”
As Tzu Chi volunteer Teh-Hong Lee listened, he recognized the same compassion that underpins Tzu Chi’s own missions, sharing that upon joining Tzu Chi, he felt it was a match made for life. “That’s why it’s so easy for us to partner with you all,” said Washbish. “Because we all know what we’re doing here, and why — we’re kind of in the same footsteps.”
The volunteers then visited a local supply center, where they personally witnessed the community’s solidarity and the warmth of its members. Volunteers from the community greeted the assessment team and immediately asked how they could help. Survivors, too, arrived in search of tools to repair their homes. Washbish explained that tools such as shovels, rakes, and buckets were the things that helped people start again, yet are very difficult to obtain in such a time. And indeed, volunteers saw everything from clothing to rakes, mops, shovels, storage containers, personal hygiene items, and beyond. Buckets had also been prepared to help survivors load up and carry all the supplies they needed.
The tornado had not only torn through residential streets but crossed the highway and struck the nearby London-Corbin Airport, explained Flowers. Hangars were shredded, and the small planes inside had not been spared.
A yellow excavator worked nearby, its consistent beep echoing across the windy landscape.
As they returned to the Red Cross Operations Center, Bornain Chiu reflected on the sight through the car window — shattered homes, uprooted trees, and brown fields being cleared by construction vehicles, and it was a poignant reminder of nature’s colossal power.
Back at the Red Cross Operations Center, Tzu Chi and Red Cross teams had discussed the next steps, including potential distribution locations. Before she departed, Flowers hugged volunteer Teh-Hong Lee, expressing her sincere hope that Tzu Chi would further assist disaster survivors in the near future, providing tangible care and aid.
Just before departing London, the volunteers witnessed the funeral procession of a firefighter who had passed amid the storm. Local fire and police personnel stood in solemn tribute, joined by Tzu Chi and Red Cross volunteers. In this deeply moving moment, they once again shared a hope for healing without delay.
Joining Hands to Lift Up Hope
Ten days after their initial assessment, the promise of care became reality. On June 7, amid sweltering heat that inched past 103°F, more than 50 volunteers from Tzu Chi USA’s Midwest Region and four different service centers converged on London, Kentucky. Many had driven three, four, and even six and a half hours to be present. As Tzu Chi USA Midwest Region Executive Director Chong Hsieh expressed, it was time to put the teachings of Tzu Chi’s founder, Dharma Master Cheng Yen, into action.
The Laurel County Court House became the heart of the relief effort that day. Judge Executive David Westerfield had generously offered the venue, ensuring that survivors received this essential care in a space that was both accessible and dignified. The Red Cross, once again a close partner, stood side by side with Tzu Chi, embodying the spirit of collaboration that had marked the response from the beginning.
Inside, rows of tables were carefully arranged, each one prepared with the essentials that would help families take their next steps forward. Warm blankets, bamboo banks, and cash cards loaded with funds were ready for distribution. By the day’s end, 175 blankets, 103 bamboo banks, and $76,000 in cash card relief had been placed directly into the hands of survivors, reaching 291 individuals from 103 households.
As families filed into the courthouse, it was evident that for many, this was the first moment since the tornado where they could pause, sit down, and breathe. Tears fell freely as volunteers bowed respectfully, offering both comfort and encouragement alongside tangible relief.
“I believe Tzu Chi and the Red Cross align so well because we are both like the blanket on a survivor’s shoulders,” reflected Lynne Washbish. “We will be there until they can stand again.”
Tzu Chi volunteers strive to be among the first to arrive and the last to leave, bringing comfort in the immediate aftermath and ensuring that hope endures through the long journey to recovery — so that survivors know their global Tzu Chi family is here for them for the long haul. With love as our guide, there’s no end to the good we can do together.
