Deadly tornadoes and severe storms tore through parts of the Midwest and South last weekend. In the wake of the tornadoes, homes and businesses were destroyed, whole neighborhoods leveled and 28 people lost their lives.
While communities are still reeling from the devastation, some without water and power and no modes of transportation, Lowe's has shifted into recovery mode, deploying over 1,284 totes and buckets of disaster relief supplies. At the Lowe's of Maplewood, less than five miles from the most impacted area in Missouri, store manager Stephy Romero is not only working closely with local government and first responders but is also passing out buckets of supplies to community members in need.
And when people in her community couldn't come to Lowe's, Lowe's came to them, "We headed down to ground zero, where the destruction took place, and hand-delivered to the Urban League, where a lot more of the community is, people who could not reach us. We then went down to neighborhoods and connected one-on-one with the people sitting outside their homes waiting for help, providing more buckets and water."
A little more than 400 miles away at Lowe's Store 2666 in London, Kentucky, store manager Christofer Setter is trying to help his community recover from the destruction caused by an EF-4 tornado.
"The level of destruction here in London and Laurel County has been beyond comprehension. We saw pictures of it the night they came out, but as we got out there delivering totes and buckets, it was another level of destruction that I've never seen anything like."
Kentucky was arguably hit the hardest by the severe weather, accounting for 17 of the 28 fatalities. Christofer says the town of London, in particular, was devastated when the tornado landed near the store, "It was one of our higher populated subdivisions directly behind the store that took the most damage. The community is devastated, but they rally around each other and help in any way they can. "
Christofer is rallying and showing up for his community by hand-delivering relief supplies to friends and neighbors and helping with the cleanup effort.
Both Christofer and Stephy say they plan to keep their stores well stocked with the items they know folks will need as they recover and rebuild from the tragic weather event.
