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Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said he feared at least 70 people were killed in the tornado in the state and the death toll could exceed 100.
“We believe the death toll from this incident will exceed 50 Kentuckians and possibly as high as 70 to 100,” he told a news conference on Saturday. “It’s very, really hard, and we are praying for each and every one of them.” family.”
Dozens were feared dead on Saturday after tornadoes and severe weather caused devastating damage in several states, tearing through a candle factory in Kentucky, an Amazon facility in Illinois and a nursing home in Arkansas.
Governor Beshear declared a state of emergency, activated the National Guard and asked Biden for an emergency declaration after storms killed people in at least four states.
The tornado killed more than 100 people in Kentucky and an undetermined number at an Amazon warehouse in Illinois, prompting President Joe Biden to offer federal help.
President Joe Biden tweeted on Saturday that he was made aware of the situation and promised affected states “they will have what they need as the search for survivors and damage assessment continues.”
Biden said the federal government is working with governors to “make sure they have what they need.”
The National Weather Service warned that night-time tornadoes are “particularly dangerous” because people may not be listening to severe weather warnings.
Several additional incidents have been reported in Kentucky to touch down from four tornadoes. Thousands of homes in the state were left without electricity.
The storm could be the state’s deadliest since the super outbreak in 1974, and it could be the region’s largest since 1925, Michael Dossett, director of Kentucky Emergency Management, said at the briefing. “Rescue and search efforts are on.”
Dossett said the storm spread over an area 200 miles long.
Graves County, in the state’s far southwest, bordering Tennessee, was the hardest-hit of about 19 counties to experience damage from the storm.
In Illinois, a roof and wall collapsed at a large Amazon fulfillment site near Edwardsville, northeast of St.
The Edwardsville Police Department reported “catastrophic damage” to a significant portion of the structure and “confirmed the death.”
Local media reported at least one death, citing the Edwardsville police chief.
Three deaths from the storm were confirmed in Tennessee, according to state emergency management officials.
At least two people are reported dead in Arkansas, where Governor Asa Hutchinson said a tornado struck Mississippi County, north of Memphis, Tennessee.
The National Weather Service said flash flood warnings are in place in southern Kentucky, where the tornado was also trapped earlier this week. The South Fork of Little River in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, rose more than 10 feet since midnight local time by 6:30 a.m. local time.
Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell issued a statement saying he is “praying for the lives and communities affected” by the tornado and that he is “with the entire Kentucky federal delegation to support Beshear’s request for federal aid.” Will work together.”
Amazon’s head of consumer Dave Clark tweeted, “Thoughts and prayers to our team in Edwardsville.”
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