Beshear: West Liberty looked like a "war zone" in 2012

Governor Steve Beshear was in his second term as governor when the March 2012 tornadoes hit.

"I remember seeing old news reels of Berlin at the end of World War II when the allies just bombed it and it was just ruins," Beshear said. "That's what West Liberty looked like ... It was just totally destroyed like a war zone. Automobiles scattered here and there, buildings down, churches down, schools down, courthouses down and it was amazing no more lives were lost."

Beshear says he remembers seeing the destruction for the first time.

“The pool hall in downtown West Liberty… I'm standing there, and it's just a pile of bricks and rubble, and there was a coke machine or something just standing in it. And John Will Stacy, who was a state representative at the time, was walking with me, and he said my son and his friends were in there playing pool when this hit, and they got under the pool table and they're all alive today. If you looked at that pile of rubble, how anyone walked out alive amazes me.”

You can see the full interview with Beshear Monday at 7 p.m. on Issues & Answers.