The devastating tornadoes in the United States killed dozen of people in the state of Kentucky alone. The youngest fatality identified to date was only five months old. The construction work should take years.
Mayfield – More than 60 people were killed in the devastating tornadoes in the United States in the particularly hard-hit state of Kentucky alone. As of Monday morning (local time), the number of confirmed deaths was 64, said Kentucky’s Governor Andy Beshear.
It is “the worst tornado damage imaginable,” reported the visibly shaken governor. They are “certainly the worst in our history”. More than 100 people are still missing.
The tornadoes wreaked havoc on Saturday night. According to Beshear, a tornado struck a swath of devastation over 227 miles, 200 miles of which was in Kentucky.
More than 30 tornadoes
Storms also killed several people in other states, but Kentucky was by far the hardest hit. Media reported more than 30 tornadoes in Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois and Tennessee. Accordingly, it is feared that there will be a total of around 100 deaths.
A candle factory in Mayfield, Kentucky had been razed to the ground. Because of the Christmas season, work was carried out around the clock there – but the number of deaths could be lower than initially feared. According to the company, 110 people worked in the factory, said Governor Beshear. Of these, at least 94 survived – eight bodies were found, eight other people are still missing.
The governor stressed that this information has not yet been confirmed. “We feared much, much worse.” He prayed the numbers were right. The authorities had initially assumed dozens of deaths in the factory alone.
A “mountain of rubble”
Beshear expected the death toll in the state in the southeastern United States to rise to over 70 to 80. The dead so far identified were between five months and 86 years old. Tens of thousands of households are still without electricity. There is a “mountain of rubble”.
Some of the survivors had lost everything, the governor said. Reconstruction will take years. “There will be grief. It will be cleaned up. But then we’ll make sure everyone gets back on their feet. ”Beshear expects US President Joe Biden to come to Kentucky soon.
According to CNN, Kyanna Parsons-Perez is one of those who was rescued from the rubble of the candle factory. You worked in the factory during the tornado. Suddenly the building collapsed above her and her colleague. “It happened so quickly,” she told the broadcaster. “We were rocked back and forth – and then boom, everything fell down on us.”
She was hit in the head and her legs were trapped. At some point Parsons-Perez started filming themselves in the dark and broadcasting them live on Facebook. She asked for help and always tried to reassure her colleagues. “When I got out there, I couldn’t do anything other than thank God.” Rescue workers later told her that she was lying under 1.5 meters of rubble.
It should take days for the full extent to become clear. For the United States, it is the latest in a series of natural disasters. This year alone there had been numerous storms, floods and forest fires. President Biden sees the accumulation and severity of the disasters as a consequence of climate change, which he has made combating one of his top priorities.
For Germany, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier condoned the US President. Steinmeier wrote to Biden on Monday that he was shocked to learn of the devastating effects of the tornadoes. “The extent of death and destruction fills me with sadness.” Steinmeier expressed his deeply felt condolences to Biden, also on behalf of the German citizens. “I wish your government and the local authorities strength and success in their efforts to protect the life and well-being of the people in the affected areas.” Dpa
