100 feared dead as tornadoes hit US states
Kentucky governor said fatalities in the state could be as high as 100, chiefly from a candle factory in Mayfield, Graves County that collapsed
WASHINGTON: Tornadoes killed as many as 100 people in Kentucky and an undetermined number at an Amazon.com warehouse in Illinois, prompting President Joe Biden to offer federal help.
Kentucky governor Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency, activated the National Guard and asked Biden for an emergency declaration in the aftermath of storms that killed people in at least four states.
Beshear said on Saturday that fatalities in the state could be as high as 100, chiefly from a candle factory in Mayfield, Graves County, that collapsed.
“It’s really hard, it’s really tough and we are praying for each and everyone of those families,” he said.
President Joe Biden said that a string of deadly tornadoes that ripped through southern and midwest states were an “unimaginable tragedy”.
“To lose a loved one in a storm like this is an unimaginable tragedy. We’re working with governors to ensure they have what they need as the search for survivors and damage assessments continue,” Biden tweeted as a half dozen states worked to assess the damage and fatalities from the violent weather overnight Friday into Saturday.
The National Weather Service warned that nighttime tornadoes “are particularly dangerous” since people may not be listening for severe weather warnings.
Damage will easily be in the hundreds of millions, if not $1bn, said Chuck Watson, a catastrophe modeller with Enki Research.
Multiple additional incidents have been reported from four tornadoes to touch down in Kentucky. Thousands of homes in the state were left without power.
The storms may be the state’s deadliest since a super outbreak in 1974, and it might be the largest area struck since 1925, Michael Dossett, director of Kentucky Emergency Management said in the briefing. “Rescues and search efforts are ongoing.”
The storms ripped across an area around 320km long, Dossett said. Graves County, in the state’s far southwest, bordering Tennessee, was the hardest hit among about 19 counties to experience storm damage.
In Illinois, part of the roof and wall collapsed at a large Amazon fulfilment site near Edwardsville, northeast of St Louis. The Edwardsville police department reported “catastrophic damage” to a significant portion of the structure and “confirmed fatalities”.
Local media reported at least one death, citing the Edwardsville police chief.
Three storm-related deaths were confirmed in Tennessee, according to the state’s emergency management authorities.
At least two people were reported dead in Arkansas, where governor Asa Hutchinson said a tornado touched down in Mississippi County, north of Memphis, Tennessee.
Across seven states, 333,957 customers were without power, according to PowerOutage.us.
A flash flood warning is in place across southern Kentucky, where tornadoes also stuck earlier this week, the National Weather Service said. The south fork of the Little River in Hopkinsville, Kentucky rose more than 10 feet from just after midnight to 6.30am local time.
Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell released a statement that said he is, “praying for the lives lost and communities” impacted by the tornadoes and that he “will work with the entire Kentucky federal delegation to support” Beshear’s request for federal assistance.