BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Denise Reid is counting her blessings after deadly tornadoes tore through where she grew up in Kentucky.

Reid grew up in Bowling Green, Kentucky, but has spent the last three decades in Alabama. Living in the Birmingham area, Reid is no stranger to tornadoes, but said she can’t remember ever experiencing the kinds of tornadoes those in Kentucky experienced over the weekend.

“It was part of the reason why it was so horrific,” Reid said. “I’ve lived here in Alabama almost 30 years and we’ve had some very significant events so knowing what can happen is part of what made it worse for me.”

Bowling Green is one of the places that was hit the hardest this past weekend. With a rising death toll, as well as many homes and businesses that were destroyed, Reid said she’s happy her family there is safe.

“I’d woke up during the night about one o’clock and something just said just check,” she said. “You know I’ve got a lot of family up there and so I picked up my phone and started looking and realized that it was heading toward Bowling Green. There was a tornado, a definite tornado on the ground heading, and in fact the tract was heading towards one of my nieces houses.”

Search and rescue efforts continue in Bowling Green. According to CBS News, there were at least 74 confirmed deaths in Kentucky as of Monday.