US tornadoes cause death and destruction
WASHINGTON, Dec 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Up to 100 people may have been killed as tornadoes and storms hit several US states, toppling buildings and trapping people inside.
KENTUCKY: Governor Andy Beshear said the state had “experienced some of the worst tornado damage we’ve seen in a long time.”
He said: “We believe our death toll from this event will exceed 50 Kentuckians and probably end up closer to 70 or 100 lost lives.”
Beshear said four tornadoes had torn through the state.
He said the community of Mayfield had been devastated, with a roof collapse at a candle factory resulting in “mass casualties”.
Almost 60,000 people had been left without power, he added.
Beshear said he had also declared a state of emergency.
“It’s been one of the toughest nights in Kentucky’s history,” he said.
ILLINOIS: Elsewhere, at least five people were confirmed to have died, and fatalities were confirmed at an Amazon warehouse after the roof collapsed.
Police in Edwardsville, Illinois, confirmed there had been fatalities at an Amazon warehouse where a wall around the length of a football field collapsed along with the roof above it.
At least 100 emergency vehicles were sent to the Amazon warehouse. It was unclear how many people were hurt but two people were flown to hospital by helicopter.
Rescue crews were searching through the rubble to check if anyone was trapped inside.
ARKANSAS: At least one person died and several were injured when a tornado hit the Monette Manor nursing home in Arkansas.
Some 20 people were trapped inside the building as it collapsed, Craighead County Judge Marvin Day said.
Five were left with serious injuries and a few others had minor injuries, he added. The home has 86 beds.
Day also said another nursing home around 20 miles (32km) away in Truman was badly damaged, but no injuries were reported. The residents were being evacuated because the building was unsafe.
TENNESSEE: Two storm-related deaths were reported in Lake County, in the northwestern corner of Tennessee, according to Dean Flener, a spokesman for the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency.
A third death was reported in neighbouring Obion County.
MISSOURI: One person died and two others were injured when buildings collapsed near the towns of Defiance and New Melle in Missouri.
— NNN-AGENCIES
