:quality(80)/cdn-kiosk-api.telegraaf.nl/86c065dc-5b14-11ec-8f5c-0255c322e81b.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1 "At least 80 killed by tornadoes in the US state of Kentucky | Abroad")
Beshear has declared a state of emergency in his state and asked Washington for help. President Joe Biden tweeted that the tornadoes caused an “unimaginable tragedy” in the area. He promised to provide all necessary federal aid and has expressed his condolences to the governors of the affected states.
Dozens of tornadoes left a trail of destruction hundreds of miles across the center of the United States. Mayfield, a town of 10,000 people in Kentucky, seems particularly hard hit. Many buildings have been completely destroyed and streets are littered with rubble. In conversation with CNN, Mayor Kathy O’Nan described the center as a pile of “matches.” Governor Beshear said in Mayfield that the devastation “is greater than anything I have ever seen.”
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A boat is sucked out of a showroom by a tornado, in Mayfield, Kentucky.
Ⓒ ANP / AFP
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The situation in Bowling Green Kentucky.
Ⓒ ANP / AFP
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Aerial view of the situation in Mayfield, Kentucky.
Ⓒ EPA
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At Amazon’s warehouse.
Ⓒ ANP / AFP
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A woman walks past what is left of the candle factory.
Ⓒ John Amis / AFP
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candle factory
Local media report that dozens have been killed in Mayfield after a candle factory collapses. Of the 110 employees, 70 have not yet been found. It will be a “miracle” according to Beshear if someone is found alive there. Reports of some deaths are coming from other states. Three known deaths in Tennessee, two in Arkansas, one in Missouri.
At least six employees have been killed at an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Illinois. An unknown number of people have been buried under rubble after a tornado ripped the roof off the building and part of the building collapsed. It is unknown how many people are still trapped in the warehouse. There are fears for the lives of dozens of people here.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has said on Twitter that he is “deeply saddened” by the deaths of his employees. “Our thoughts are with their families at this difficult time.” Founder Jeff Bezos also expressed his condolences on Twitter. The world’s second richest man says Amazon will work to support the community. Bezos also expresses his thanks to the emergency services on site.
In the states of Tennessee and Kentucky alone, at least 200,000 households are without power.
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