MAYFIELD, Ky. — San Antonio’s Mark Roye is on a humanitarian mission in western Kentucky, where multiple communities are enduring the aftermath of destructive tornadoes and severe storms.
Roye serves as the founding director of Somebody Cares San Antonio, a chapter of the non-profit organization, Somebody Cares America, which is based out of Houston.
Roye said he was assisting law enforcement along the U.S.-Mexico border when he learned of the devastation caused by tornadoes in Kentucky and neighboring states Friday night-early Saturday morning.
The storm has resulted in the deaths of at least 64 people and more than 100 unaccounted for in Kentucky.
Roye slept in the Nashville International Airport Sunday night and Monday morning, drove to Mayfield, Kentucky, the epicenter of among the worst tornado damage.
“It’s pretty bad,” Roye said. “I know you’ve heard this many, many times but it’s literally like a bomb went off.”
Roye provided KENS 5 with pictures of the destroyed city, which included photos of cars flipped on their side like toys, downed power lines and houses either flattened or left standing in a mangled mess.
“I can drive not even a half a mile and it looks normal here but that’s what tornados do,” he said.
Somebody Cares San Antonio (America) and Blood N Fire Ministries are working with churches and other organizations in Kentucky to provide immediate relief in communities throughout Kentucky hit hard by the severe storms.
Roye said he’s visiting Mayfield, Dawson Springs and Bowling Green to help assist.
“I love being in San Antonio. We’re a compassionate city and we care and that’s really what Somebody Cares is all about,” Roye said.
Food distribution and shelter are some of the immediate needs. There’s also a need for supplies to help families salvage personal belongings buried in the rubble.
“We need work gloves, we need buckets, we need tubs because particularly with hurricanes because people are coming back to their homes and they’re pilfering through just digging through garbage trying to find a photo album or whatever,” Roye said.
It’s especially through times of tragedy when the American spirit prevails and people from all over the country unite.
“For us, it really is just being a physical representation of what God would do just to help people.”
To learn how to help tornado victims, click here.