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at the site where their home once stood, chris and megan bean comb through the wreckage. >> this is my grandmother and grandfather, hanging on our living room wall. this picture is older than me. >> reporter: finding treasure in the debris. >> this here, my uncle made that when my mother passed away. the frame's not cracked. the glass is not cracked. nothing is cracked on it. >> reporter: all that remains here are the front steps. the threshold to so many years' worth of memories. >> there was a pillow that was given for my daughter when she was born. >> reporter: their home in dawson springs, kentucky, right in the path of the deadly tornados that raf acknowledged the region four days ago, leaving at least 88 people dead in five states. something i've noticed, i hear it in both your voices and in your spirit. i hear a certain relief and gratitude, sadness. but i don't hear anger. >> there's no reason to be angry. >> no. >> i mean, no one did it to us.

we didn't do anything to cause it. it's mother nature, act of god, however you want to look at it, there's nothing that we can do to change it. >> reporter: family photos scattered more than 100 miles away. strangers using social media to find the bean family and return them. >> somebody saw it and tagged us in it. i've contacted the people. >> to hear those stories gives new meaning to that hat, "make america great again." make this wonderful community great again. >> it doesn't matter what political party you're with or whether or not you go to church. it's everybody has come together. nobody asks any questions. we're all here for one common thing, that's to help each other. >> reporter: their extended blended family, ex-spouses, rushed to the scene to help. the community has rallied around them. >> we would rather be on the giving side than the receiving side. that's where we usually are and prefer to be. we don't like being on this end of it. nobody would, you know. >> my late grandmother used to

say, the only way god can give you more is if you open up your arms and share what you have. you all have lived your lives sharing with other people, now that's coming back to you. >> that's what we keep getting told. for me it's just being able to flip that mental switch, to know it's okay, i need this right now. that's what's going to help me get to the point that i can be that giver again. >> reporter: they were lucky. they had a storm cellar where they hid with their 11-year-old daughter. >> i'd always heard the stories about, you can tell with the pressure if your ears. when i felt that, it felt like my ears were going to explode, honestly. you know, they say it's over in a matter of seconds, and i kept waiting for it to be over. >> reporter: it was over in less than 30 seconds. miraculously, they were unharmed. >> i just peeked out the door, and i saw that it was completely covered right here. i told her, before i ever open these doors, i need you all to understand -- we're alive, we're

okay. and that's all that matters. it doesn't matter what we walk outside and see. we're alive, and we're okay. i don't care about anything else. >> reporter: but their house? wiped off the earth. >> i'm grateful and beyond blessed and thankful that we have our lives, we came out, we were not hurt physically. but when it's your home, that's what you're used to seeing every day. >> those are your dreams. >> that's ours. and to see that they're all gone, and it's going to take time for them to come back -- it's hard. >> it's going to take months to recover, and this happened in less than 30 seconds. >> yes. it just seems unreal. >> reporter: the tornado that hit dawson springs was a massive ef-3 tornado stretching 200 miles across kentucky. >> the recovery and sometime rescue efforts, they're continuing in the wake of the strongest set of tornados that

we have ever seen in kentucky. >> reporter: governor andy beshear was in the dawson springs area today touring the devastation. his father grew up here. >> hey, i'm andy. >> nice to meet you. >> nice to meet you too. >> reporter: the storms, the deadliest, most destructive tornado outbreak to strike the u.s. in more than a decade. the bean family is just one of hundreds of families in dawson springs whose homes were destroyed. the up to of 2,500 was almost completely leveled by the storm. >> i've been here for 31 1/2 years. and i've never seen nothing like this before. this pole that went through, a four by six went through this wall, went through my washing machine. >> reporter: an estimated 75% of buildings here, wiped out. >> it's hard. i can't drive through there without tears in my eyes. the body count's 14. 45 unaccounted for.

that doesn't necessarily mean that they're deceased, they might be out of town or whatever, we just haven't heard from them yet. >> reporter: rescue crews and cadaver dogs from iowa and indiana have converged on the town to help find the missing and the dead. >> the priority is ensuring that all the citizens of hopkins county and dawson springs are accounted for. >> reporter: so far, there are over 70 confirmed deaths in kentucky. more are missing. >> there are unquestionably more than 100 people that are still unaccounted for. local and multiple search and rescue missions continue. >> reporter: among the dead, 12 children. 2-month-old oakland kuehne is the youngest, her parents making the heartbreaking decision to take her off life support. >> i'm going to miss her crying in the middle of the night, waking me up. i'm going to miss her not wanting to be put down, wanting her daddy and mommy to hold her. >> reporter: hundreds more were injured in the tornados, many of

them children. nurses lisa pyle and debbie hammond tree on duty when they came in. >> you can hear their cries, their screams when you're taking care of them. >> i rocked him. that's all i know to do. i'm a mother, so i gravitate toward those babies. >> reporter: their father, charles cooke, telling my colleague elwyn lopez the boys sent out to find help after the storm passed. he and his wife were thrown into a nearby field. >> your children saved your life? >> absolutely. absolutely. >> reporter: all over the bluegrass stays, churches and community centers taking in people who have lost everything. >> we can do anything, let us know. >> reporter: people helping where they can, reminding you that while the community may be down, they are certainly not out. >> do you want some barbecue? >> yes, ma'am. >> there you go. >> a lot of this area is a poor area. and rebuilding's going to take time. and the big thing is, the

outpour of love and affection and support is here now. this is day three, day four. what's going to happen week two, week three, week four? we have to make sure our focus and our attention remains that they're going to need help way past the cleanup. >> reporter: from food to supplies, donations have been pouring in. now the biggest challenge has been distributing it all. >> we actually are in a situation now where we've had to divert donations to madisonville for the simple fact that we are snowed under here. we've got more materials and more donations than we can take at this time. it's amazing. folks around the state that have been sending things. >> reporter: this man even driving his food truck all the way from joplin, missouri, to mayfield, to help distribute food. >> cooking and serving. that's all we're going to do. >> reporter: ten years ago an ef-5 tornado tore through joplin, flattening huge swaths

of the city. jeff carney remembers everyone who came to help in his city's time of need. >> there was volunteers from everywhere. came out the next day or two, there was 30 people in our backyard. and i go out there, start talking to them, they were from everywhere. florida, new york, tennessee, everywhere. i just thought that was the neatest thing. so that's why we want to do this. >> we've lived through this by the grace of god. and we're making it through by the grace of god. and people are reaching out. and the only thing i know, that's the grace of god doing it. >> i think you just did a sermon. >> that's what keeps us going. >> reporter: chris and megan bean are thankful to have a hotel room for the next 30 days, helped by the school where chris works as head custodian. >> what are you grateful for? >> this. >> the fact that we're all here. >> reporter: their children are staying with family. christmas a few days away. they're wishing for a christmas miracle to all be together under

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rabbi, and dr. milton west, pastor of the first christian church here in mayfield. dr. west, we are so grateful for you and the other panelists tonight. i have to say, you are pastor of a church here, also a psychologist? >> that's correct. >> we want to talk to both of those. the nation has seen how much this community has gone through. what concerns you most in this moment going forward? >> i think there is a danger in overinterpreting the events of the last five days. reaching conclusions about what it all means and those kinds of things. so one of the things that we hope people will do is take a moment and reflect on not what it all means and not to look back on the past and that kind of thing, but to think about the immediate needs, their immediate feelings and thoughts, and then long-term as a matter of faith, cling to the people that are close by. an event like this has a positive effect in a very sad

way, but sometimes it knocks down the barriers between people, their differences, and they find more common ground. going through a common experience, a tragedy like this. >> certainly our nation is in need some of common ground. rabbi gohertz, we're witnessing community members being resilient, helping each other through the trauma. these are trying times, certainly. but what about the spirit? what concerns you about people's hearts and spirits being wounded in this moment? >> i believe that the spirit is very much a muscle like the rest of our muscles in our body. they become dormant if we don't use them. wa concerns me over the past few days and the past couple of years is that we get so used to, maybe numb to seeing these tragic scenes on television, specifically the tornados of this week what we have to do in a moment like this to work our soul, to be able to exorcize it, is to come down and mourn with people, to be present with them, to hug them, to comfort them, to love them. if we are right there, then when we show up, after we mourn with

them, with our hammers, nails, screws, screwdrivers, we help them rebuild. not going to let them be alone until we build up everything that's supposed to be there again. that's how we do the work of the spirit, by making our spirits stronger while lifting other people up. >> dr. taylor, i want to bring you the conversation. i know this story for you is particularly personal because you are a proud daughter of the great state of kentucky. they say there are six stages of grief. but that's long-haul battle stuff. folks are still in shock after losing their homes and loved ones, their community. how does the human body respond to much trauma? >> our brain is built for times like this. our brain wants to keep us safe but not afraid. and certainly you mentioned grief. there could be shock, there could be anger. and the way our body works when something as unexpected like this happens, once the shock dissipates and you realize that you're safe, then you can, from a top-down way, start utilizing your resources and be thankful

and have gratitude and be that one that notices other people and kicks in and helps. i agree with what the rabbi said. it's a real opportunity to notice and be with one. but for some, if they are feeling whatever way they are, to recognize that and then go to sources of help. >> doc, a follow-up question. i've been doing this 40 years, covered every natural disaster pin all their forms. yet i've never heard so many people talk about their mental health in one place like now. we spoke to a local mom earlier, megan bean, who says one thing she's struggling with now, besides losing her home and many of her possessions, how does she explain the unexplainable to her 11-year-old daughter, lily? we've heard that from a number of families. what do you say to parents who are dealing with so much to help their children? >> unfortunately with covid-19 and racial reckoning, so many kids have had a huge disruption. so our brain does not like

uncertainty. as parents what we can do is give the gift of certainty to our children just as we need in your tugging and those warm hugs now, so do our kids. draw them in, share your feelings, but remind them of all the concrete ways that they are safe. >> and rabbi, what's the larger message for all of us as we watch this community come together and rebuild? >> the larger message i think is that we're not in control of everything. so the question is what do we do? what we do is we take advantage of every day from the gratefulness that we express when we wake up in the morning, because we can breathe. from the good deeds we can do, small or big, for people. let's make ourselves better. let's make our community better. let's make our country better. >> thank you so much, rabbi. i'll leave you with the final word. this question comes to you not as a psychologist, but as a pastor. you know these people well. many of them are members of your congregation. you know what they need.

what's the sermon sunday? >> i think the sermon will focus certainly on, here we all are, what now? going forward, how can we pull together, unite, find that common ground, common purpose? pull together and understand that our great upheaval can eventually become great strength. you have to count on each other to let that happen. >> let the church say amen, pastor. >> amen. >> thank you so much from the people here and our nation. grateful to you all. up next, the sisters now living in the windy city giving back to their beloved kentucky hometown. people everywhere living with type 2 diabetes are waking up to what's possible... ...with rybelsus®. (♪ ♪) rybelsus® works differently than any other

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everything from toiletries to warm clothes. >> mayfield has always been a community where you help each other. no matter if you move out, it's still your home. >> they plan to make the six-hour drive home with their supplies this weekend. finally tonight, we've been here for the past few days. we've been struck by the resilience of the people. with all they've lost, they have given so much back to us. matthew 18:20 says in part, when two or three gather in my name, i will be present. to the good people of kentucky we've been blessed to meet these last few days, you have courageously reminded our nation, wherever two or three good people are together, something powerful and healing, redemptive, is on hand. and nothing is impossible. that's "nightline" for this evening. thanks for the company, america. good night.