VIDEO – United States: at least 50 dead in a tornado in Kentucky – LCI

At least fifty people have been killed in Kentucky in a tornado, US state governor Andy Beshear said on Saturday. “I’m afraid that there are more than 50 dead in Kentucky (…), we are probably closer to 70 to 100 dead, it’s awful”, he said at a press conference.

The town of Mayfield was particularly affected by the disaster. “The city has suffered the hardest blows. The devastation is massive.”, said Michael Dossett, a local relief official, interviewed on CNN. He mentioned a “ground zero “, an expression used to describe the ruins of the World Trade Center after the attacks of September 11, 2001 in New York.

The collapsed roof of a candle-making factory “claimed countless victims” in the city, lamented the governor who declared a state of emergency before midnight. “This is the worst damage done by a tornado in a long time, if you are in this area know that this climatic event is still ongoing, stay safe” urged Andy Beshear.

Search and rescue teams were deployed overnight amid the chaos made worse by the power cuts. Photos and videos of Mayfield, shared on social media, show gutted buildings, twisted metal, trees and bricks strewn across the streets.

Several counties in Kentucky were also devastated by the strongest tornado that traveled more than 300 kilometers in the state, the governor added.

Other states in the southeast and south-central United States were hit by tornadoes overnight Friday through Saturday. A total of 24 tornadoes have been recorded by the Storm Prediction Center, according to CNN.

In Tennessee, at least two people were killed in incidents related to the storm, according to an emergency management official quoted by local media. In Arkansas, one person was killed and 20 others were trapped in a nursing home, media reported. But rescuers managed to evacuate the trapped people from the building whose structure was “practically destroyedCraighead County official Marvin Day told local news stations.

In Illinois, dozens of Amazon employees were trapped Saturday in a warehouse ravaged by a storm the day before, according to authorities and media who speak of a hundred people. A dozen people were still stuck inside on Saturday morning.

State Governor JB Pritzker said he was addressing his “prayers to the people of Edwardsville” pointing out that the Illinois Police and Emergency Management Agency were coordinating “closely their actions with local officials”. No assessment of possible victims has yet been communicated.

Tornadoes also hit Missouri. Climate change is increasing the magnitude and frequency of the storms that are already plaguing the United States, scientists say.

More information to come on lci.fr.