At least 70 killed in tornadoes in central U.S.; Biden declares emergency in Kentucky

Scores of people in the South and Midwest are believed dead after severe weather that caused multiple tornadoes struck late Friday night and early Saturday morning, tearing through several states including Kentucky, Illinois and Arkansas.

At least 70 people have died in Kentucky alone, the governor said, and the death toll may rise to more than 100. President Biden approved the state’s emergency declaration in order to provide federal funds for relief efforts. He called the damage “devastating.”

Dozens of tornadoes were counted, the worst of which hit western Kentucky. Tornado warnings from the National Weather Service continued in the region Saturday morning.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear’s office said it was the “longest tornado track on record and the largest in Kentucky history.”

“This will be, I believe, the deadliest tornado system to ever run through Kentucky,” Beshear said.

Beshear spoke with the president over the phone Saturday afternoon and said the federal emergency declaration will bring in more resources to respond to the disaster.

In Mayfield, Ky., a candle factory was hit, leading to multiple fatalities, Beshear said at a news conference earlier Saturday morning.

“We believe our death toll from this event will exceed 50 Kentuckians, probably end up closer to 70 to 100 lost lives,” he said.

“This is one of the toughest nights in Kentucky history,” Beshear said. “We will make it through this. We will rebuild.”

The devastation in the Mayfield area goes beyond the factory, and several surrounding counties are pitching in with EMS help as the main emergency services hub in the town itself was in the direct line of the storm, local officials said Saturday. The water tower was hit too, leaving the town without water.

President Biden tweeted that he has been briefed on the tornadoes. He also spoke with governors from Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee and Illinois, states that also saw damage from the tornadoes.

“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 said.

Kyanna Parsons-Perez, a worker at the factory, told NBC News Saturday morning that she was stuck in the rubble for two hours before being rescued.

“It was extremely scary,” she said. “It was absolutely the most terrifying thing I’ve experienced in my entire life. … I did not think I was going to make it at all.”

Kentucky Emergency Management Director Michael Dossett said Friday night’s tornado event may surpass the 1974 Super Outbreak as the deadliest in the state’s history.

Reports on social media show severe damage from Friday night’s storm. A train derailed from the winds, damaging multiple homes. Two children in Hopkins County, Ky. were found alive in a bathtub that had been blown away from their house.

Ronnie Noel, Hopkins County’s magistrate, told NPR he traveled to nearby Dawson Springs to survey the damage from the storms.

“Total devastation there. Lots of power lines, trees everywhere. Homes demolished,” he said. “There’s loss of life in Dawson [Springs] and it’s just totally devastating for the whole county.”

In Edwardsville, Ill., just east of St. Louis, severe weather struck an Amazon warehouse, causing “catastrophic damage,” the Edwardsville Police Department said in a statement on Facebook. It said there were confirmed fatalities on site and search and rescue efforts were ongoing.

The damage includes the roof getting ripped off the warehouse, The Associated Press reported, and a wall roughly the length of a football field collapsed. The AP reports at least one person at the warehouse died, two people were moved to nearby hospitals in helicopters and 30 went to a nearby police station for further evaluation.

Amazon said it was providing support to employees in the area.

“We’re deeply saddened by the news that members of our Amazon family passed away as a result of the storm in Edwardsville, IL,” Kelly Nantel, an Amazon spokesperson, said in a statement to NPR.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their loved ones, and everyone impacted by the storm,” Nantel said. “We also want to thank all the first responders for their ongoing efforts on scene.”

The extreme weather conditions also hit parts of Arkansas, where a nursing home was struck, and Tennessee.

Judge Marvin Day from Craighead County, Ark., where the nursing home is located, told NPR that as of around midnight, one resident from the facility died and five were seriously injured.

“We’re very thankful that there were not more people hurt and killed at the nursing home and the surrounding area. It was a pretty strong storm that hit us, but everybody’s doing what they can do,” Day said.

He added that the biggest issue as of Saturday morning was getting power back to many residents in the area.

In the parts of Tennessee that were hit by the storm, about 72,000 customers were without power, according to local reports.