Kentucky tornadoes: Death toll could pass 100; towns without heat and water

A cluster of powerful tornadoes that devastated the US state of Kentucky on Friday has left many towns without heat, water, and electricity in chilly temperatures, as authorities continue tallying the devastation.

President Joe Biden declared a major federal disaster on Sunday, paving the way for additional federal aid to be made available for the hardest-hit areas, the White House said.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear formally requested the declaration on Sunday and said the death toll from the disaster could rise to more than 100. However, he said the number of missing at a destroyed candle factory in Mayfield, a town of about 10,000 in the southwestern corner of Kentucky, was lower than initially estimated.

"We're still hoping as we move forward for some miracles to find more people," the governor said during a visit Mayfield, one of the hardest hit.

Among the 110 people who were at the candle factory, eight have been confirmed dead and eight others remained missing, said Bob Ferguson, a spokesperson for Mayfield Consumer Products, which owns the factory.

It now appears that many more people escaped the factory than initially thought, causing the authorities to revise down their overall death toll tally from the devastation.

Biden approves Kentucky emergency declaration for tornado disaster

US President Joe Biden looks on as he speaks about the deadly tornadoes that struck Kentucky, in Wilmington, Delaware, US, on December 11, 2021. (Reuters photo)

However, those who have survived are facing freezing temperatures without basic utilities.

“Our infrastructure is so damaged. We have no running water. Our water tower was lost. Our wastewater management was lost, and there’s no natural gas to the city. So we have nothing to rely on there,” Mayfield Mayor Kathy Stewart O’Nan told CBS. “So that is purely survival at this point for so many of our people.”

Nowhere in the state suffered as much as Mayfield, where the tornadoes did not even spare the fire and police stations. "I don't think there's a pane of glass in any vehicle or property that the city owns that isn't shattered," the mayor said.

Across the state, National Guard members went house to house to help residents remove debris from damaged properties. Dogs were also scouring debris for victims and survivors.

'I've got towns that are gone,' Kentucky Governor Beshear says

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said on Sunday that widespread damage is making rescue efforts a challenge in his state after tornadoes swept through the region two days ago.

Kentucky was the worst hit by far in the swarm of tornadoes across several states, remarkable because they came at a time of year when cold weather normally keeps tornadoes at bay.

Such major storms outside of the spring and summer months are extremely rare.

The tornadoes claimed lives in other states too. Six workers were killed at an Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) warehouse in Illinois after the plant buckled under the force of the tornado.

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