Tornadoes: Killings in Kentucky May Increase in the Next Weeks
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear admitted today (14) that the death toll from passing tornadoes could increase as rescuers continue their work. He revealed that at least 100 inhabitants are still missing.
In an interview, Beshear was thrilled to confirm that at least 78 people had died in Friday's (10) tornadoes that swept across several areas of the United States. Sixty-four of the deaths were registered in the state of Kentucky, the most affected.
The ages of those who died ranged from a few months to 86 years, with six under 18, Beshear added in an interview in Frankfort, the state capital.
In Kentucky, some 26,000 homes and businesses remain without electricity, including nearly all in Mayfield, the location most affected by the weather phenomenon.
Most of the victims in Kentucky were working in a candle factory when a powerful tornado ripped the roof off the building and killed dozens of people.
Tornadoes also caused damage in Illinois - where six people died at an Amazon distribution center in Edwardsville - four in Tennessee and two in Arkansas, where one home was destroyed and two in Missouri.
collapse is investigated
The Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced that it had opened an investigation into the collapse of Amazon's Illinois warehouse. However, Kelly Nantel of Amazon said the building had been "built to code".
Illinois Governor B. Pritzker announced an investigation to update the code "due to the serious changes in climate we are seeing across the country."
An Amazon official told The Guardian that “it looked like a train was passing by the warehouse. The ceiling boards collapsed. We were in the bathroom and we were there for at least two and a half hours”.
Biden will visit Kentucky
US President Joe Biden announced that he will travel to Kentucky on Wednesday (15) to observe the damage from the devastating tornadoes.
The White House said Biden will visit Ft. Campbell for a briefing on response operations, then depart for Mayfield and Dawson Springs to assess the damage caused by the tornadoes.
The president also said that he was defining the itinerary in consultation with local authorities, to ensure that his presence would not distract attention from the ongoing emergency response.
He also admitted that he could declare a state of catastrophe for Illinois and Tennessee, equally hard hit by natural disasters.
Text translated using artificial intelligence.
