World
·

USA - The death toll from tornadoes rises to 100

Dozens of people fear death at a candle factory in Kentucky employing about 110 people

imgsrc 1 9 WINDOW, USA, embroidery

The sad death toll from the devastating tornadoes that hit Kentucky and other US states yesterday rises to at least one hundred. In fact, with dozens of people on the missing list, authorities fear the death toll could rise further in the coming hours.

At least 30 tornadoes were created during heavy storms in six states yesterday in Kentucky, Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi, Illinois and Tennessee, sweeping away everything. The material damage is incalculable, but for now the authorities are focusing on searching for the missing among the wreckage.

Kentucky Governor Andy Besir said 40 of the 110 workers at the plant have been rescued so far.

"The level of disaster is not like anything I have seen to date," Bessir said of the devastation caused by the tornadoes, with winds exceeding 227 miles (365 km) per hour across the state. imgsrc 5 7 WINDOW, USA, embroidery

"Earlier this morning at around 5.00 am we were pretty sure we would lose at least 50 people. "I'm sure now that the number is over 70. It can, in fact, exceed 100 before the day is over."

Besir said 189 members of the National Guard have been deployed to assist in the recovery effort, with efforts focused on Mayfield, a small town of about 10.000 in the southwestern state where it converges with Illinois, Missouri and Arkansas.

The fire station and police station in Mayfield were destroyed, disrupting the work of emergency response services. In Mayfield is also the candle factory that collapsed shortly after employees heard the screams of the winds and the lights began to flicker, according to Kiana Parsons-Perez, a factory worker.

"We could feel the wind; then we shook a little," he told NBC. "And after the boom, everything fell on us"

Videos and photos posted on social media show buildings in downtown Mayfield being reduced to rubble.

The tornado was caused by a series of night storms, one of which formed in northeastern Arkansas. The storm moved from Arkansas and Missouri to Tennessee and Kentucky.

President Joe Biden has instructed that federal resources be directed to where the need is greatest.

One person was killed and five were seriously injured when a tornado tore through the roof of a nursing home in Monet, Arkansas, a small community near the Missouri border, according to Kreghed County Judge Marvin Day. imgsrc 2 7 WINDOW, USA, embroidery

"We were very lucky that no more people were killed or injured. "It could be much worse," Day told Reuters.

A few miles away, in Lisville, Arkansas, a tornado destroyed a Dollar General store, killing one person and wreaking havoc in the city center, according to Chuck Brown of the Mississippi County, Arkansas County Sheriff's Office.

"It was like a train roaring through the city."

In Illinois, at least two workers lost their lives when the roof of an Amazon warehouse collapsed.

In Tennessee, bad weather has claimed the lives of at least three people, said Dean Flenner, a spokesman for the state Emergency Management Agency.

Source RES-EIA

in.gr