A Kentucky family is left homeless for a second time by a tornado that hit the same location

BARNSLEY, Ky. (AP) — Devin Johnson's life was uprooted for a second time when a tornado flattened his home over the Memorial Day weekend — on the same lot in Kentucky where another twister left him homeless in 2021.

Johnson, 21, watched Tuesday as workers used chain saws to cut into the wreckage of the trailer he called home with his grandparents and girlfriend. It was an all-too-familiar scene for his family.

Their previous home in the tiny western Kentucky community of Barnsley was destroyed by another tornado during a terrifying night of storms in December 2021 that killed 81 people in the Bluegrass State.

“We never thought that it would happen again,” Johnson said.

Amid all the uncertainty as they start over again, there's one thing they've decided on, he said.

“All we know for sure is we’re not going back here,” Johnson said. "It’s going to have so many memories of us losing everything.”

Barnsley was hit on Sunday by a powerful tornado that packed winds up to 165 mph (266 kph) and tore a destructive path across nearly 36 miles (58 kilometers) of Kentucky, the National Weather Service said.

The region was hit by multiple rounds of severe storms, and damage survey teams were assessing the destruction to determine how many tornadoes touched down. Another powerful storm Sunday barely missed the city of Mayfield, where a painstaking recovery continues from a tornado that hit the town in 2021.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency from the Sunday storms and reported five deaths statewide. The governor toured storm-stricken areas of western Kentucky on Monday.

In Barnsley, the tornado tore through a section of the storm-weary community. A home next to Johnson's trailer was leveled, another was knocked off its foundation and the roof was ripped off another home.

Johnson's family fled before the tornado hit, taking refuge with a relative in nearby Madisonville. Watching weather alerts as the storm barreled toward Barnsley, they had a sinking feeling, he said.

“We just all had that feeling that we just lost everything again,” he said.

Later as he drove back home, emergency vehicles rushed past him. When he turned the corner into his neighborhood, “there was just nothing” as he approached his family's lot.

In 2021, Johnson's family rode out the storm in their trailer. With no basement, Johnson hunkered down in the kitchen, desperately clinging to a table with his grandparents, his sister and her boyfriend. His uncle and aunt put a mattress over themselves in the hallway.

“You start hearing a roar and then the entire house started shaking," he recalled. "The power started flickering and the windows just shattered. And then all of sudden you just feel the wind and pressure and this roar just ripping through the house and it starts tugging on you and trying to drag you out.”

They all emerged unhurt, but the trailer was destroyed. From the wreckage they salvaged some belongings — including a beloved statue of Jesus and Mary that his grandmother had for decades, Johnson said. They recovered some family mementos, including photos.

Johnson's family furnished their new trailer in stages once they scraped together enough money, he said. But after the latest twister, the family's home and belongings were strewn across the neighborhood.

“This time, everything that we have is gone,” he said.

Later in the day, they found an engagement ring that had belonged to his girlfriend's grandmother.

"It’s very meaningful to her because it’s the last memory she has of her grandma,” he said.

His family was insured both times when tragedy struck. But their situation is just as dire as the first time.

“Right now we have no money," Johnson said. "So we’re just trying to figure out how to go next.”

He's staying at a motel in Madisonville, with relatives helping with the expenses.

The plan is to move to Madisonville. He and his girlfriend have put away money since the 2021 storm in hopes of getting their own place, but for now they'll likely live with his grandparents, he said. Johnson has a warehouse job in Madisonville and his girlfriend works at a local factory.

"It’s just been so tight since then with all the bills we had to go through,” he said.

Having seen the immense force of tornadoes, he's longing for a home with a basement.

“We know the power that they’re capable of and how easily they can just take your life,” he said.

Schreiner reported from Frankfort, Kentucky.

The home site where the Johnson family home is seen along Barnley Loop, Tuesday, May 28, 2024, in Madisonville, Ky. The mobile home as demolished after a series of powerful storms hit the central and southern U.S. over the Memorial Day holiday weekend. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Haley Loukota, searches for her belongings among storm debris along Barnsley Loop, Tuesday, May 28, 2024, in Madisonville, Ky. Her home was demolished after a series of powerful storms hit the central and southern U.S. over the Memorial Day holiday weekend. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Jesse Johnson, left, and Haley Loukota, right, celebrate as they find their belongings at their demolished home along Barnsley Loop, Tuesday, May 28, 2024, in Madisonville, Ky. A series of powerful storms hit the central and southern U.S. over the Memorial Day holiday weekend. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Haley Loukota, smiles as she finds her grandmother's wedding rings after they were located among storm debris along Barnsley Loop, Tuesday, May 28, 2024, in Madisonville, Ky. Her home was demolished after series of powerful storms hit the central and southern U.S. over the Memorial Day holiday weekend. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

A home demolished by severe weather is seen along Barnsley Loop, Tuesday, May 28, 2024, in Madisonville, Ky. A series of powerful storms hit the central and southern U.S. over the Memorial Day holiday weekend. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Haley Loukota, right, hands family photos to to Lois Johnson after they were found in storm debris along Barnsley Loop, Tuesday, May 28, 2024, in Madisonville, Ky. A series of powerful storms hit the central and southern U.S. over the Memorial Day holiday weekend. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Haley Loukota, looks over family photographs found among storm debris from her demolished home along Barnsley Loop, Tuesday, May 28, 2024, in Madisonville, Ky. A series of powerful storms hit the central and southern U.S. over the Memorial Day holiday weekend. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Devin Johnson uses his phone where his house once stood along Barnsley Loop, Tuesday, May 28, 2024, in Madisonville, Ky. A series of powerful storms hit the central and southern U.S. over the Memorial Day holiday weekend. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Haley Loukota, left, and her fiance Devin Johnson collect their belongings from storm debris after their home was demolished along Barnsley Loop, Tuesday, May 28, 2024, in Madisonville, Ky. A series of powerful storms hit the central and southern U.S. over the Memorial Day holiday weekend. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

KHARKIV REGION, Ukraine (AP) — The four drones were designed to carry bombs, but instead the men of Ukraine's Khartia brigade pack them with food, water and handwarmers and launch them in darkness toward the front line, a 15-minute flight away.

The unit commander who goes by the callsign Kit, or “cat,” pilots the tiny uncrewed aircraft from a basement room he jokingly calls their Airbnb. Guided by the drone's night-vision camera, he drops the 10-kilogram (22-pound) packages one by one as close as he can to the position where as many as five infantrymen battle Russian forces in the late autumn chill. The delivery will hold them for two or three days.

That's about as far as Kit dares look into the future. He knows that the reelection of Donald Trump will change something in his life, but as far as he and other Ukrainian soldiers on the front are concerned, trying to figure out how is a game for politicians. For him, all that matters is the distance he measures in the meters (yards) that Russian forces advance or retreat in the front-line sector that is his responsibility.

“We are trying with all our might to destroy them and win back our territories, so that it does not go any further, so that there are no more destroyed cities and destroyed lives,” Kit said. “We need to focus on the present in our work and try to do it effectively in the here and now.”

But he cannot escape the sense of a gathering storm.

Russia is increasingly hitting the Kharkiv region with unstoppable, building-leveling glide bombs and swarms of drones and chipping away at territory there. Its troops are advancing in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions. Up to 12,000 North Korean troops have been sent to Russia's Kursk border region to help beat back Ukrainian forces there, according to U.S., South Korean and Ukrainian intelligence assessments.

Trump, who has called President Vladimir Putin “pretty smart” for invading Ukraine, has repeatedly criticized American backing of Ukraine. He characterized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “the greatest salesman on Earth” for winning U.S. aid.

Zelenskyy was among the first world leaders to publicly congratulate Trump, and said the two discussed how to end “Russian aggression against Ukraine” when they met in September.

Between now and Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration, the Biden administration has said it will send as much aid to Ukraine as possible to help hold back Russian forces and possess a strong hand in any potential peace negotiations. But Russia is pressing just as hard for an advantage in what most believe are crucial weeks to come.

Aviator, a Khartia soldier launching the supply drones, said he can only do his job and hope for the best. His attention is fixed on how many hours remain before the coming dawn, when Russian forces will be able to spot the uncrewed aircraft and shoot them down. If his mission fails, he knows that the men he calls brothers will suffer.

“You feel you’re useful, that you are in the right place, that the lives and health of our brothers depend on your work," said Aviator, who returned to Ukraine from a job in Poland to join the army. "We’re just doing our job, we don’t have time to worry about the election.”

Tolstiy, who runs a drone repair workshop not far away, knows firsthand what happens to territory captured by Russia. A former infantryman, he fought in Bakhmut and watched the city fall to Russian forces who bombed it to rubble. He confessed that sometimes, reading the news makes him want to give up. But that's simply unthinkable.

“It’s like we’re in another world here,” he said. “When you see that your comrades are injured or killed, it motivates you.”

Lori Hinnant contributed from Kyiv.

Servicemen of Ukraine's Khartia brigade pack a Vampire drone with food and water to launch toward the frontline to Ukrainian positions near Kharkiv, Ukraine, late Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Ukraine's Khartia brigade officer, who goes by callsign Kit, left, sits while his soldiers pilot drones in a shelter on the frontline near Kharkiv, Ukraine, late Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Servicemen of Ukraine's Khartia brigade pilot drones in a shelter on the frontline near Kharkiv, Ukraine, late Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Servicemen of Ukraine's Khartia brigade pack a Vampire drone with food and water to launch toward the frontline to Ukrainian positions near Kharkiv, Ukraine, late Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

A soldier of Ukraine's Khartia brigade, callsign Tolstiy, inspects a FPV drone in a drone repair workshop close to the front line in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)