Watch the unfathomable videos of the carnage
Officials in Kentucky are continuing the search for survivors from the devastating series of tornadoes
Photo above: Tornado in Kentucky lit up in the night sky by lightning
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said at least 105 people were unaccounted for in the state since Monday morning. Regarding the number of fatalities, he added, “Undoubtedly, there will be more.”
The following written content from msn
Multiple counties have deaths in the double digits, and some places still have multiple people unaccounted for.
On Monday, Gov. Andy Beshear said the death toll is up to 64 in the state, and there are more than 100 people who still have not been found.
Beshear said the age range in deaths is from 5 months to 86 years old, and six of them are under 18.
Of those who died, 20 were in Graves County; 13 in Hopkins; 11 in Muhlenberg; 12 in Warren; four in Caldwell; one in Marshall; one in Taylor; one in Fulton; and one in Lyon.
In Mayfield, one of the hardest hit spots, at least 8 people were lost when a candle factory was leveled. They’re still searching for eight people, but it now appears 94 people survived — a much higher number than originally expected.
Officials are expecting the death toll to rise in the coming days. We’re still gathering information from surrounding counties.
The extensive damage and lack of service for cellphones has made it difficult to find some people, Gov. Andy Beshear said.
FEMA crews are hitting the ground in several counties to begin creating a long term strategy to rebuild decimated communities.
Since the tornadoes touched down in Kentucky, the state has raised more than $4 million in relief funds.
A federal emergency disaster declaration was called for several Kentucky counties. The eight counties currently included are Caldwell, Fulton, Graves, Hopkins, Marshall, Muhlenberg, Taylor and Warren counties. More could be added.
At least four tornadoes touched down in the outbreak that spanned four states.
The National Weather Service is continuing to survey the damage, and likely will for days, classifying the tornadoes on the Enhanced Fujita scale.
So far, they believe EF-3s, which are categorized as strong, touched down in both Mayfield and Taylor County.
Beshear has said they believe Mayfield’s will be upgraded, possibly as high as an EF-5.
First responders and volunteers have funneled in from all across the state to help the affected communities.
The storms left miles of destruction, wiping away more than 1,0oo homes. Cars were tossed and trees were snapped in half.
Many roofs came clear off, and some buildings were even shifted off their foundation.
Thousands remain without power, and some officials, like in Bowling Green, have said it could be weeks before all is restored.
The following is from December 11th 2021
80 feared dead in most devastating tornadoes in Kentucky history
See drone footage of the massive and deadly tornadoes ripped through Kentucky for hundreds of miles, potentially breaking a 96-year-old record.
Over 30 tornadoes tore through 6 states.
The following written content from Christopher Leach
A tornado that traveled through parts of Western Kentucky and left dozens dead late Friday night and early Saturday morning may have broken a 96-year-old record. According to the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management, the tornado originated in northeastern Arkansas and lifted up in Breckinridge County, covering a continuous distance of 223 miles. Gov. Andy Beshear reported the tornado may have traveled 227 miles.
e National Weather Services confirms that information, it would break the record for the longest continuous distance ever traveled by a tornado. The previous record, according to the Weather Channel, was held by the Tristate Tornado from 1925, which left 695 dead and over 15,000 homes destroyed.
That EF5 twister traveled across three states — Missouri, Illinois and Indiana — a continuous 219 miles and spanned approximately .75 miles in width. The tornado covered ground at approximately 59 miles per hour, which means it covered the 219 miles in roughly three and a half hours. This weekend’s tornado first struck Mayfield upon entering Kentucky, leaving dozens dead and many more displaced in its wake. The tornado continued traveling northeast through Benton, Princeton, Dawson Springs and Central City before retreating in Breckinridge County.
The “most severe tornado event in Kentucky’s history” is believed to have claimed the lives of at least 70 people, Gov. Andy Beshear said at a news conference in Graves County late Saturday morning. He said at a news conference later in Bowling Green that the death toll “is very likely going to be over 100 people.
” Beshear said earlier Saturday that four likely tornadoes wreaked havoc on the state with one traveling for more than 200 miles in Western Kentucky, “something we have never seen before.” More than a dozen Kentucky counties have reported damage from the storms, he said. Read more from Kentucky
