A monstrous tornado, driving a trench that could rival the longest on record, ripped through the central United States as part of a storm front that killed dozens and smashed a candle factory, crushed a nursing home, derailed a train. and damaged a huge Amazon warehouse.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said tornadoes may have killed 70 people in the state and the death toll could exceed 100.
“I pray that there is another person rescued. I pray there will be one or two more, ”the governor said as first responders searched the rubble of the candle factory in Mayfield, where 110 people were working Friday night when the storm hit. Forty of the workers were rescued.
“Sometimes we had to crawl over dead people to get to the living victims,” said Jeremy Creason, the city’s fire chief and director of the Emergency Medical Service (EMS).
By Saturday afternoon, 22 deaths had been confirmed in Kentucky alone, including 11 in and around Bowling Green. But Beshear said more than 70 people may have been killed by a tornado that traveled more than 200 miles (320 kilometers) overland in his state and that the final death toll could exceed 100 in at least 10 counties.
The provisional death toll in five affected states was 36, including 22 in Kentucky, as well as four in Tennessee; two in Arkansas, where a nursing home was destroyed; and two in Missouri and six in Illinois, where the Amazon facility was damaged.
If early reports are confirmed, the meteor “has probably been one of the longest violent tornadoes in American history,” said Victor Genzini, an extreme weather researcher at Northern Illinois University.
The longest tornado on record, in March 1925, traveled about 355 kilometers (220 miles) through Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. However, Genzini said this tornado may have traveled for nearly 400 kilometers (250 miles). The meteor was even more remarkable, he added, because it arrived in December, when colder weather normally limits tornadoes.
Building debris and destroyed trees littered the ground in Mayfield, a city of about 10,000 in western Kentucky. On the streets were debris of twisted sheet metal, downed power lines and wrecked vehicles.
Among those missing at the candle factory is Janine Denise Johnson Williams, 50, a mother of four, whose family members held a vigil at the site on Saturday. Her brother, Darryl Williams, said she called her husband during the night to inform him that the weather was getting worse. That was the last time anyone heard from her.
Kyanna Parsons-Perez, an employee at the factory, was trapped under approximately five feet (1.5 meters) of debris for at least two hours until rescuers rescued her.
In an interview with NBC’s “Today” show, Parsons-Perez said that “it was absolutely the scariest event” that he has ever experienced.
“I did not think I would survive,” he said.
Shortly before the tornado struck, the facility’s lights began to flicker. She felt a gust of wind, her ears began to “thunder” and then “Boom! Everything fell on us ”. There were shouts among the people and she heard other workers praying.
Those who helped rescue the trapped workers included inmates from the nearby Graves County Jail, he added.
“They could have used the moment to try to escape or whatever, but they didn’t. They were there, helping us, “he added.
Sarah Burgess, a Kentucky state trooper, said rescue teams were using heavy equipment to remove debris at the candle factory. Forensics were called to the scene and several bodies were recovered, but she did not know how many. He said it could take a day or more to remove all the debris.
Rescue efforts were complicated because Mayfield’s main fire station and emergency services center were also affected by the tornado, Fire Chief Creason said.
President Joe Biden approved a disaster emergency declaration for Kentucky on Saturday and said he will support affected states.
“I promise you that whatever it takes, whatever it takes, the federal government will find a way to provide it,” Biden said.
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