Families hunkered down in their bathrooms and emerged to find their homes gone when a deadly tornado barreled through the community of London, Kentucky, on Friday, leaving behind only foundations where houses once stood.

Laurel County took the biggest hit in Kentucky from a violent tornado that spanned several cities on Friday. Of Kentucky's reported 18 deaths (as of Saturday night), 17 of those were in the London, Kentucky area.

Rescue crews raced to search houses in a Laurel County subdivision, a few hours after brutal storms and an unconfirmed tornado devastated parts of the county.

The community of Laurel County, Kentucky, is grieving the loss of more than a dozen people, including a firefighter who spent nearly four decades helping others, after a tornado destroyed his neighborhood while he was on duty.

Trust me, you’ll never find a better human being than Reed Sheppard,” a resident of London, Kentucky, wrote after Sheppard’s tornado relief efforts.

Portsmouth-based Mercy Chefs, a disaster relief organization, is providing aid in Kentucky and Missouri following a deadly tornado outbreak in the region.

The debris field from Friday's tornado is so extensive it's hard to comprehend. Still, residents who survived the deadly twister rolled up their sleeves to lend a hand to their neighbors.

While countless London residents pick up the pieces of their lives following Friday night’s tornado, there are several organizations that are stepping up right now to lend them a helping hand.