Dozens Feared Dead after Tornadoes Hit US
WEB DESK
US President Joe Biden spoke with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear this morning, expressing his “condolences for the lives lost” and pledging federal assistance after storms and tornadoes ripped through several Midwest and southeastern states overnight.
“The President indicated that he has directed FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] and other Federal agencies to provide the speediest assistance possible to impacted communities. The President and the governor agreed to stay in contact throughout the day as search and rescue operations and damage assessments are ongoing,” according to a White House readout of the call.
In a statement earlier this morning, the White House said Biden was briefed on the storms and that he directed federal resources be “surged immediately.”
Deanne Criswell, the Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator, “described the severe consequences, including in Kentucky, and tragic losses of life” following storms that swept through parts of the central US, according to details from the briefing President Biden received this morning.
Biden was briefed by Criswell, his homeland security adviser, his deputy chief of staff and the intergovernmental affairs director on the storms.
“She [Criswell] also briefed on the rapid deployment of FEMA emergency response personnel, water and other needed commodities,” the White House added.
“The President has directed that Federal resources be surged immediately to the locations where there is the greatest need to alleviate suffering from the devastating consequences of these storms,” the White House said. “Because damage assessments are ongoing, further briefings will be provided to the President in the course of the day.”
Dozens are feared dead after a series of season-defying tornadoes Friday night in several U.S. states, causing a wide swath of destruction from weather conditions more common in spring.
Officials said tornadoes moved over at least five states: Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said at a news conference early Saturday that at least 50 people were likely killed in a candle factory in the town of Mayfield, where about 110 people were working, adding that he expects the toll to climb.
“We believe our death toll from this event will exceed 50 Kentuckians and probably end up 70 to 100,” Beshear said. “It’s very hard, really tough, and we’re praying for each and every one of those families.”
The tornado in Mayfield was one of at least four that devastated a number of counties in Kentucky. Beshear said one tornado churned through about 322 kilometers of land in the state.
Storms also swept through the Kentucky city of Bowling Green, killing an off-campus Western Kentucky University student, according to the university’s president.
A number of counties in Kentucky were left devastated with the strongest tornado tearing through 200 miles of the state, Governor Andy Beshear said.
On the same night a storm ripped through a massive Amazon warehouse in the state of Illinois where around 100 workers were left trapped inside, local media reported. He added that scores of search and rescue officials had been deployed to save lives as power outages continued to hit the area.
The tornado came as storms wreaked havoc in multiple US states. In Arkansas, one person was killed and 20 others were trapped after a tornado struck the Monette Manor nursing home, US media reported, with another person killed elsewhere in the state.
In Tennessee, at least two people were killed in storm-related incidents, an Emergency Management official told local media.
The tornadoes tore through the four states — Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee — with warnings in effect for Illinois.
Scientists have warned that climate change is making storms more powerful and increasing their frequency, posing a growing threat to areas where extreme weather events are already common.
A tornado also hit a nursing home in Monette in northern Arkansas, killing one person and trapping 20 people inside as the building collapsed, according to Craighead County Judge Marvin Day. He said five people sustained serious injuries and a few received minor ones.
Day said first responders rescued those trapped in the building that was “pretty much destroyed.”
Another person was killed elsewhere in Arkansas, according to local media reports.
Scientists are warning with increasing urgency that global warming is making storms more powerful and frequent, posing even greater threats to areas where extreme weather is already common.