24 tornadoes are sweeping across five countries: the path of devastation causes "probably up to 100 deaths"

24 tornadoes wreaked havoc in five states in the United States. Kentucky Governor Beshear goes up to “100 dead”.

Update from December 11th, 11.50 a.m .: In the US state of Kentucky, at least 50 people are believed to have been killed by a tornado. “I fear that there are more than 50 deaths in Kentucky, probably closer to 70 to 100,” said Governor Andy Beshear to journalists on Saturday. At least one person was killed in a nursing home in Arkansas (first report on December 11, 9.45 a.m.), and at least two people died in Tennessee, a civil protection representative said to local media. The rescue workers were also concerned about the fate of around a hundred employees at an Amazon warehouse in the state of Illinois, who were trapped in the building that was partially destroyed by a tornado.

Tornado causes “probably up to 50 deaths” – 24 tornadoes raged in five countries

Update from December 11th, 11:31 a.m .: Numerous tornadoes raged on Friday evening (local time) in several US states and caused damage. In the western state of Kentucky alone there could have been “at least 50 deaths,” said Governor Andy Beshear in an interview with local CNN broadcaster WLKY. Mayfield was particularly affected in the state. The roof of a factory collapsed there and there could be many casualties, Beshear said. According to CNN, at least 24 tornadoes raged in five US states. A map from the transmitter showed that the affected area stretched from north to south. In addition to Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Illinois and Arkansas were also affected, where two deaths were initially reported. The rescue work in the Amazon warehouses (update from December 11, 11:33 a.m.) continued.

US tornado causes Amazon distribution center to collapse – not all people have been found yet

Update from December 11, 10:43 a.m.: A tornado partially collapsed the roof of a distribution center of the online retailer Amazon in the US state of Illinois (as in the first report from December 11, 9:45 a.m.). At the time of the accident on Friday evening (local time) in Edwardsville near the city of St. Louis, an unknown number of people were in the building, the local police chief Mike Fillback told journalists. Rescue workers could have got a number of those trapped in the building. However, it is unclear how many remained inside. Further details were initially not known. An overview of the damage and possible victims in the four affected states was initially difficult because the information changed quickly.

Record tornado sweeps across four countries: Longest path of devastation in history?

First report from December 11th, 9.45 a.m .: Washington – A tornado claimed at least two lives on late Friday evening in the US state of Arkansas. According to media reports, the tornado hit the villages of Monette and Trumann and damaged a number of buildings, including two nursing homes. Two people were killed and five more injured in the Monette nursing home. Helpers rescued 20 people from the building. The two localities are in northeast Arkansas. The local high school became a reception center for evacuees.

But not only Arkansas, but three other states were affected. The Washington Post reported that there were multiple tornadoes that evening and a twister that cut a swath of devastation across four states, killing four states. The newspaper calls it the “quad-state tornado,” which is unusual at this time of year.

Tornado in the USA: Record-breaking path of devastation – four states affected

There are tons of videos and pictures of the destruction on Twitter. The Washington Post writes that the tornado may have traveled 240 miles. That corresponds to about 386 kilometers. Here the four states are circled in red on a map from Google Maps *.

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Tornado in USA destroys Amazon warehouse

Not only in the old people’s home in northern Arkansas, but also in Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee, catastrophic damage, and possibly more deaths, have been reported, the Post reports. For three hours – which is said to be unusually long – the Twister must have raged and thrown things up to 30,000 feet (10 kilometers).

Difference Between Tornado and Twister?

Communication and warnings were difficult in some areas due to the broken radio masts. Houses collapsed, buildings were destroyed. People were trapped in factories when a roof was destroyed.

As you can see in the article picture above, an Amazon warehouse completely collapsed. It’s unusual for a storm of this size to arise at this time of year. The background is probably the unusual heat for December. On a scale of 0 to 5, it is said to have had EF3 intensity, which would set a new record for the season, the Washington Post believes. We will keep you up to date in the news ticker. (ank mit dpa) * tz.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA