Rescuers in the middle of the U.S. resumed search operations on Sunday for victims of a deadly tornado outbreak that left dozens of people dead and flattened entire communities when it tore through six states late Friday.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said the tornado that tore a 200-mile gash across his state and leveled homes and businesses left “devastation like none of us have ever seen before.”
“This tornado didn’t discriminate against anybody in its path, even if they were trying to be safe,” Beshear told “Face the Nation” on Sunday, saying the dead included a 3-year-old and a 5-year-old.
Mayfield, Kentucky, was one of the hardest hit communities, with satellite photos showing a swath of destruction, including at a candle factory that was completely flattened. More than 100 workers were in the factory when the tornado struck, and 40 of them had been rescued as of Saturday. A spokesperson for the factory said Sunday that eight people at the factory had been killed and eight people were missing, but 90 people from the factory had been located.
The official number of confirmed deaths from the tornadoes and severe storms stood at 25 on Sunday morning, with Kentucky suffering the most deaths. But Beshear estimated the actual death toll in his state would exceed 80 and could rise to more than 100 as crews continue sifting through the wreckage.
In Arkansas, two people were killed, including one person in a nursing home in Monette. Governor Asa Hutchinson said Sunday that it was a “miracle” that more weren’t killed at the care facility.
“The staff did an incredible job of using their own body to shield some of the residents, and the fact that there was a warning system in place helped them to move them into the hallway that saved lives, and really emphasize the importance of the early warning system, the sirens and taking action whenever you hear that,” Hutchinson told “Face the Nation.”
In Illinois, six people were killed when the roof of an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville collapsed during a storm. The storm pummeled the building until a wall the length of a football field caved in, reports Jenna Rae from CBS-affiliated St. Louis station KMOV. Forty-five people have been rescued from the rubble. It is not clear how many remain missing.
President Biden signed an emergency declaration for Kentucky on Saturday, opening the door for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other federal entities to coordinate disaster relief efforts. “Whatever is needed, the federal government is going to find a way to supply it,” Mr. Biden said Saturday.
