A strong line of storms wreaked havoc on our area last night, damaging the main stage at Festival Park in downtown Martin, damaging a stage at Discovery Park of America in Union City, and destroying a downtown building in Sharon. A pier at Kentucky Dam Marina was blown away and although people were on the pier at the time, there were no injuries. Kentucky Dam Village park is closed until further notice.
Thousands in our area were without power for hours and emergency personnel were busy clearing roads which were blocked by downed trees.
At the height of the storm, some 5,000 Paris Board of Public Utilities were without power, with 5,000 without power in the Gibson Electric coverage area.
Meanwhile, Power was restored to about 7,365 West Kentucky Rural Electric Cooperative members overnight and multiple crews continue working to restore service to the 5,035 members still without service this morning. Repairs are expected to continue throughout the day.
Visiting lineworkers are arriving to relieve the West Kentucky RECC crews and keep the restoration effort moving forward. “We are grateful to our fellow cooperatives for providing these critical resources,” said West Kentucky RECC President & CEO David Smart.
“As we expected, these repairs are complex and time-consuming,” said Smart. “We apologize for the discomfort and inconveniences our members are experiencing and ask for their continued patience and support as we complete repairs.” Smart added that he does expect most repairs will be completed today.
The Kentucky State Police reported minor injuries have been reported along with structure damage. Heavy damage was reported in the Pryorsburg community in Graves Co.
Graves County Sheriff Jon Hayden said the Pryorsburg community got hit hard.
The Catfish restaurant was hit with debris from a nearby building and several customer vehicles were damaged. Hayden noted that a local man, Cliff Guthrie drove two couples from Paducah home last night after their cars were totaled when the restaurant was hit. They were customers and inside eating when the storm hit.
In Henry County, most of the damage involved downed trees and limbs. James Martin of the Oakland Fire Department said the damage provided the opportunity to have probationary firefighters some hands-on storm cleanup training. Henry County Sheriff’s deputies and highway personnel were busy last night in the cleanup efforts throughout the county.
Damage at main stage at Festival Park in Martin. Good Morning Martin photo.
Trees down in Oakland community. James Martin photo.
The Catfish Restaurant in Pryorsburg. Graves Co. Sheriff photo.
Top photo: Building in downtown Sharon destroyed. Anthony Miller photo.
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