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70 Dead In Kentucky As Biden Calls Tornado Outbreak “One of The Largest In History”

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70 Dead In Kentucky

Photo Credit: CNN

By Tyler Durden | Zero Hedge

Update (1812ET): Late Friday, deadly tornados touched down in at least six states — Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi, and Tennessee.

The worst devastation was in Kentucky, where 70 people were confirmed killed, and the death toll could jump to 100 in the coming hours, if not days.

Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky said, “this has been the most devastating tornado event in our state’s history.”

On Saturday evening, President Biden said the disaster was “one of the largest tornado outbreaks in our history.”

“It’s a tragedy. And we still don’t know how many lives are lost and the full extent of the damage,” Biden said. He promised federal aid to the six states listed above that were affected by the severe storms. 

It’s only a matter of time before the Biden administration blames climate change.

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Update (1040ET): Mayfield, Kentucky has woken up to absolute devastation across large swaths of the state following the major storm which has left, at the least, dozens dead and hundreds injured.

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Authored by Lorenz Duschamps via The Epoch Times,

A major storm system ripped through multiple U.S. states on Friday, hitting a candle factory in Kentucky with more than 100 employees still inside the building at the time a tornado struck.

The series of U.S. storms started early on Friday and are already blamed for multiple deaths and injuries across parts of the Midwest and South.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said at a news conference that it is going to be “some of the worst tornado damage that we’ve seen for a long time,” calling the weather event a “mass casualty” incident.

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

“There were about 110 people in [the factory] at the time that the tornado hit it,” he added.

Beshear also announced the deployment of about 180 guardsmen, including search and extraction, as the governor declared a state of emergency and requested President Joe Biden a federal emergency declaration.

Kentucky emergency management director Michael Dossett said at the same briefing that the storm appears to be the first quad-state tornado storm in the state’s history.

“This tornado event may surpass the one in 1974 … as one of the most deadliest in Kentucky’s history,” Dossett said, adding that this will be “one of the darkest days in the state’s history.”

The primary tornado was on the ground for 200-miles, Beshear said and would be the longest travelled of any tornado in the state for nearly 100 years.

Meanwhile, significant damage has also been reported in other parts of the U.S., including at an Amazon fulfilment centre in Illinois, where a wall about the length of a football field collapsed, along with the roof above it. Tornadoes also ripped through Missouri, Arkansas, and Tennessee.

Emergency vehicles stage outside an Amazon fulfilment centre after it was heavily damaged when a strong thunderstorm moved through the area, in Edwardsville, Ill., on Dec. 10, 2021. (Jeff Roberson/AP Photo)

At least 100 emergency vehicles descended upon the Amazon warehouse near Edwardsville, about 25 miles east of St. Louis. It wasn’t immediately clear how many people were hurt, but one person was flown by helicopter to a hospital.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said in a statement that he has contacted the mayor in Edwardsville to request if they need any state resources.

Amazon spokesperson Richard Rocha said in a written statement on Friday that the company’s top priority now is “the safety and well-being of our employees and partners.”

“We’re assessing the situation and will share additional information when it’s available,” Rocha added.

https://collective-spark.xyz/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/files_2021.12_61b48b2385f54046155d3c53.mp4?_=1

 

The Amazon distribution centre is partially collapsed after being hit by a tornado in Edwardsville, Ill., on Dec. 10, 2021.

Edwardsville Police Chief Mike Fillback said several people who were in the building were taken by bus to the police station in nearby Pontoon Beach for evaluation. By early Saturday, rescue crews were still sorting through the rubble to determine if anyone was trapped inside.

“Please be patient with us. Our fire personnel are doing everything they can to reunite everyone with their loved ones,” Fillback said on KMOV-TV.

Three storm-related deaths were confirmed in Tennessee, said Dean Flener, spokesman for the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency. Two of the deaths occurred in Lake County, and the third was in Obion County—both in the north-western corner of the state.

A tornado struck the Monette Manor nursing home in Arkansas on Friday night, killing one person and trapping 20 people inside as the building collapsed, Craighead County Judge Marvin Day told The Associated Press.

Five people had serious injuries, and a few others had minor ones, he said. The nursing home has 86 beds.

This article (70 Dead In Kentucky As Biden Calls Tornado Outbreak “One of The Largest In History”) was originally published on Zero Hedge and is published under a Creative Commons license.

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