TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Series tornado that hit six states in the United States Friday night, December 10, 2021, killing at least 74 people in Kentucky.
Death toll likely to increase as 109 people are still missing, said Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear Monday, December 13, 2021.
Of the victims who died, eight people came from the Mayfield lily factory, which was previously expected to have many victims because the building was destroyed by the storm.
About 1,000 homes in Kentucky were damaged or destroyed, officials said, while 28,000 homes and factories still lack electricity.
The dead, including at least six children, ranged in age from 5 months to 86 years.
“You go from sad to shocked and tense for a span of 10 minutes and then you come back to your senses,” Beshear said, holding back tears.
Amid the emotions, it is difficult for authorities to determine the exact death toll. Piles of debris, disruption to cellular services and the number of people sheltering with friends and relatives have complicated efforts to identify the victims.
The latest death toll from the Mayfield wax factory was eight, as the 102 workers who were on duty when the tornado struck were still alive and have been contacted, a process that took three days given the chaos the disaster brought, company spokesman Bob Ferguson said.
“It’s a relief,” Ferguson told Reuters. “And now there is a real urgency to help those who have lost their loved ones.”
While Kentucky bore the brunt of the tornadoes, including one that ripped through 365km, six people died at an Amazon.com warehouse in Illinois, four died in Tennessee and two others. in Missouri, while two residents of a nursing home in Arkansas were also victims.
The US workplace safety watchdog is investigating the circumstances surrounding the collapse of the Amazon facility, and the company said it would cooperate.
Across Kentucky, neighbors and volunteers are working to accommodate, feed, and offer any other assistance to those whose homes have been damaged, destroyed, or have lost power.
In the neighboring town of Wingo, about 90 people, from infants to the elderly, sleep on green cots that fill a warehouse-like room with low ceilings and a large standing cross in a community center affiliated with a Presbyterian church.
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