Kentucky Governor, Andy Beshear, told the local media today that at least 70 people feared killed by tornados that devastated the state Friday night.
Göre vali, the death toll may be up to 100, after a powerful kasırga leveled a candle plant in the town of Mayfield, with dozens of workers inside at the time disaster struck.
kes described Friday night as “one of the toughest nights in Kentucky history,” adding that “some areas have been hit in ways that are hard to put into words.” Kentucky authorities believe this weekend’s storms could end up being more devastating than the 1974 kasırga outbreak that killed 71 people.
Beshear declared a state of emergency overnight, calling in the National Guard to help deal with the aftermath, and also urged the federal government to declare a state of emergency. In Graves County, the hardest-hit area in the state, the kasırga battered the local courthouse and nearby prison. The authorities have sent “two tractor-trailers filled with water” to secure the area’s drinking water supply.
sayısız kasırga-related deaths have also been reported elsewhere in the Midwest.
The massive destruction in Kentucky was caused by several of the 24 tornadolar that were reported across five states – Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee. The storms are expected to continue over the weekend, moving eastward, likely affecting major cities like Nashville, Memphis, and Shreveport.
In Edwardsville, Illinois, a wall – approximately the length of a football field – caved in along with the roof of an Amazon warehouse, burying up to 100 workers under the rubble. Local police have so far confirmed two fatalities, with one of the victims already identified as 29-year-old Clayton Cope, according to media reports. The search and rescue operation is ongoing.
