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Some 50 people are “likely” to have been killed in a devastating outbreak of tornadoes that ripped through Kentucky and several other U.S. states late Friday and early Saturday, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said.
He told local TV station WLKY that the number of dead could be “significantly north of that”, the Washington Post reported.
“The reports are really heartbreaking,” he said, according to the Post. It added that a spokeswoman for the state’s emergency management service said that rescue officials had not confirmed figures for deaths or injuries as of early Saturday.
Some of the worst destruction was in Mayfield, in western Kentucky, the New York Times reported. About 110 people were inside a candle factory in the area when the tornado ripped through, it added.
“We believe we’ll lose at least dozens of those individuals,” Beshear was quoted as saying by the Times.
In Tennessee, the severe weather killed at least three people, Dean Flener, spokesman for the state’s Emergency Management Agency, said in comments carried by the Post.
The Graves County Emergency Management Office says if you live in Mayfield and can walk safely, you should head to Fire Station House 1 at 211 E Broadway street. There will be buses to help transport people. @JackKaneWPSD shared these photos of some of the damage there. pic.twitter.com/YJUQv5HnoD
— WPSD Local 6 (@WPSDLocal6) December 11, 2021
At least one person was killed and five were injured when a tornado shredded the roof of a nursing home in Monette in northern Arkansas, the Post quoted local officials as saying.
In Illinois, authorities said many people were trapped after a roof partially collapsed at…
Source : france24
