MAYFIELD: More than 80 people have been killed while dozens missing as storms unleashed devastating tornadoes hit six US states, toppling buildings and trapping people inside.
Addressing Americans at a White House news conference, US President Joe Biden said the deadly weather system is likely to be “one of the largest tornado outbreaks in US history” as he pledged to “provide whatever is needed” to people in need.
“It’s a tragedy,” Biden said, adding: “And we still don’t know how many lives are lost and the full extent of the damage.” He revealed how his “heart aches” for those affected by the disaster, including the rescue crews.
“This is the United States of America, our citizens are badly, badly hurt and they’re scared to death right now, it’s devastating,” Biden said, adding: “We just have to keep at it, we have to keep focused, this is going to be the focus of my attention until we get it finished.”
As the cold night fell Saturday, scores of search and rescue officials were helping stunned citizens across the US heartland sift through the rubble of their homes and businesses, desperately searching for any more survivors.
More than 70 people are believed to have been killed in Kentucky alone, many of them were workers at a candle factory, while at least six died in an Amazon warehouse in Illinois where they were on the night shift processing orders ahead of Christmas.
“This event is the worst, most devastating, most deadly tornado event in Kentucky’s history,” said state governor Andy Beshear, adding he fears “we will have lost more than 100 people.” Beshear has declared a state of emergency in the state.
The western Kentucky town of Mayfield was reduced to “matchsticks,” its mayor Kathy O’Nan told CNN. The small town of 10,000 people was described as “ground zero” by officials, and appeared post-apocalyptic: city blocks leveled; historic homes and buildings beaten down to their slabs.
‘Pretty much destroyed’
Reports put the total number of tornadoes across the region at around 30. At least 13 people were killed in other storm-hit states, including at an Amazon warehouse in Illinois, bringing the total toll to 83.
In Arkansas, at least one person died when a tornado “pretty much destroyed” a nursing home in Monette, a county official said. Another person died elsewhere in the state.
Four people died in Tennessee, while one died in Missouri. Tornadoes also touched down in Mississippi. Biden promised the full assistance of the federal government and said he planned to travel to the affected areas.
