US tornado: Kentucky hit hardest, dozens killed in 5 states
A monstrous tornado, carving a track that may rival the longest on record, ripped through the middle of America in a storm that killed dozens and shattered a candle factory, crushing a nursing home Derailed a train and ransacked an Amazon warehouse.
“I pray there will be another rescue. I pray there will be one or two more,” said Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, as crew workers through the wreckage of the candle factory in Mayfield, where 110 people Were working all night on Friday when the storm hit. Forty of them were saved.
“We had to, sometimes, crawl on casualties to get to the survivors,” said Jeremy Cresson, the city’s fire chief and EMS director.
In Kentucky alone, 22 people were confirmed dead as of Saturday afternoon, including 11 in and around Bowling Green. But Beshear said touching a twister for more than 200 miles (320 kilometers) in his state could result in up to 70 fatalities and eventually more than 100 deaths in 10 or more counties.
The deaths of 36 people in five states include six in Illinois, where an Amazon facility was affected; four in Tennessee; two in Arkansas, where a nursing home was destroyed; and two in Missouri.
If early reports are confirmed, Twister “will likely go down as one of the longest-tracked violent tornadoes in United States history,” said Victor Genzini, a researcher on extreme weather at Northern Illinois University.
The longest tornado on record in March 1925 tracked through Missouri, Illinois and Indiana for about 220 miles (355 kilometers). But Genzini said this twister would have touched down for about 250 miles (400 kilometers). He said the storm was even more remarkable because it came in December, when generally cooler weather limits tornadoes.
Debris from destroyed buildings and cut trees covered the ground in Mayfield, a city of about 10,000 in western Kentucky. Bent metal sheets, downed power lines and damaged vehicles lined the roads. The windows and roofs of the buildings that were still standing were blown away.
Those missing at the candle factory included Janine Denise Johnson Williams, a 50-year-old mother of four whose family members monitored the site on Saturday.
“It’s Christmastime and she works at a place that’s making candles for gifts,” said her brother, Darryl Williams. “To give the gift of life to make a living. We haven’t heard anything, and I’m not anticipating anything. But I’m expecting the worst.”
She said Johnson Williams called her husband overnight to report the weather was bad, the last time anyone had heard from him.
A worker at the factory, Kyna Parsons-Perez, was trapped under 5 feet (about 1.5 meters) of rubble for at least two hours, until rescuers managed to free her.
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