The number of fatalities after the tornadoes that hit six states in the early hours of Saturday - and that were cruel to Kentucky - will be more than 100, Andy Beshear, the governor of that southern state, warned this afternoon.
"The devastation is unlike anything I have seen in my life and I have a hard time putting it into words," said Beshear this Saturday, as rescuers took advantage of the
last hours of daylight to try to find survivors in the rubble.
Rescuers work through the rubble of a candle factory in Mayfield, Kentucky, after tornadoes struck on December 11, 2021.JOHN AMIS
So far it is feared that some 70 people have lost their lives, mostly in Kentucky, but also in Illinois, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee and Mississippi, after the passage of more than 30 tornadoes.
The danger of further devastation continues as systems move into the eastern United States, experts warn.
Power outages have affected hundreds of thousands of people in the affected regions.
Residents of Mayfield, Kentucky, walk alongside debris caused by tornadoes on Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021. Mark Humphrey / AP
The Kentucky governor urged residents of the state to donate blood.
"We will have many wounded," he said.
He also asked people not to go through the damaged areas so as not to affect the rescue efforts.
The violence of the tornadoes practically wiped out cities like Mayfield, located in Graves County, Kentucky, authorities said.
Mark Humphrey / AP
The president, Joe Biden, said this Saturday that he will not visit the disaster area so as not to cause "distractions", but he approved the emergency declaration for a major disaster and promised the necessary help from the federal government.
The sheer amount of debris caused by the destruction has complicated rescue efforts.Mark Humphrey / AP
The federal government will do "whatever it takes" and "will find a way to provide it," the president said in a speech from Willmington, Delaware.
"This is likely to be one of the largest tornadoes in our history," Biden said.
"It's a tragedy.
And we still don't know how many lives were lost or the full extent of the damage. "
About 60,000 Kentucky residents were without power in the aftermath of the disaster.
Michael Clubb / AP
Four people have been confirmed dead in Tennessee;
two in Arkansas, where a nursing home was destroyed;
and one in both Missouri and Illinois, where an Amazon facility was destroyed.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Bashear said one of the four tornadoes that swept through the state remained on the ground for more than 200 miles (321 kilometers) after making landfall.
If the first preliminaries are confirmed, the tornadoes "will probably become perhaps one of the most violent and longest in US history,"
Victor Genzini, an extreme weather expert at Northern Illinois University
, told
The Associated Press.
.
The system traveled "more than 250 miles through various states (including Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee and Kentucky)," according to the National Weather Service.
The longest tornado on record in the nation's history, in March 1925, it traveled some 220 miles (355 kilometers) through Missouri, Illinois and Indiana.
The tornado outbreak, which began Friday night, also affected Arkansas, Illinois, Missouri and Tennessee.
GUNNAR WORD
Small cities like Mayfield, Kentucky, with about 100,000 residents, were practically wiped off the map.
There, the rubble of destroyed buildings and crushed trees are all that is seen on the ground.
Bent sheet metal, downed power lines, and wrecked vehicles are the sights on city streets.
Many buildings were destroyed in downtown Mayfield.
The tornado ripped the roofs off some buildings, downed trees and scattered debris over a wide area. Brett Carlsen
Mayfield's search operations included workers at a candle factory employing 110 people at the time of the storms, and from which at least 40 have been rescued.
The federal government will do "whatever it takes" and "will find a way to provide it," said the president from Willmington, Delaware.
Getty Images
Kentucky State Police Chief Sarah Burgess said rescue teams were using heavy equipment to move debris at the candle factory, one of the worst hit structures.
He said forensics were called to the scene and bodies were recovered, but it is unclear how many.
According to the official, it could take more than a day to remove all the debris there.
General view of affected homes in Mayfield, Kentucky Brett Carlsen
Rescue efforts are looking complicated because Mayfield's main fire station and emergency services center were also hit by tornadoes.