Images show the extent of damage at an Amazon warehouse and a candle factory after tornadoes tore through six states. As search operations continue, residents comb through debris for belongings and recovery teams face weeks of clearing. Photo: Tannen Maury/Shutterstock The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear slightly lowered his estimates for the death toll from the weekend’s tornadoes, putting the current confirmed dead at 64, though he cautioned it would likely rise to above 70, maybe 80.
The tornadoes caused catastrophic damage across a broad section of the country, in a swath that at times was as wide as three-quarters of a mile. In Illinois, at least six people were confirmed dead at an Amazon.com Inc. warehouse in Edwardsville, in the southwestern part of the state.
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Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear slightly lowered his estimates for the death toll from the weekend’s tornadoes, putting the current confirmed dead at 64, though he cautioned it would likely rise to above 70, maybe 80.
The tornadoes caused catastrophic damage across a broad section of the country, in a swath that at times was as wide as three-quarters of a mile. In Illinois, at least six people were confirmed dead at an Amazon.com Inc. warehouse in Edwardsville, in the southwestern part of the state.
Much of the devastation was in southwestern Kentucky, where eight people died and eight more are missing at a candle factory where more than 100 people were working late Friday.
“With this amount of damage and rubble, it may be a week or even more before we have a final count on the number of lost lives,” Mr. Beshear said.
“The age range is 5 months to 86 years,” he said, fighting tears. “Six are under 18.”
Officials originally predicted a much greater loss of life at the Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory, which was operating around the clock to meet holiday demand. Mr. Beshear said he was relieved that as of Monday morning, the company said 94 of the 110 people at the plant have been accounted for.
“With no phones, with 15-plus feet of wreckage,” Mr. Beshear said, “there was no way at the time to know how many individuals made it out.”
Chief Executive Troy Propes said company leaders are heartbroken and working to assist those affected by the disaster. “Our company is family-owned and our employees, some who have worked with us for many years, are cherished,” Mr. Propes said.
The factory is a supplier for retailer Bath & Body Works,
which said that the company “is devastated by the horrible loss of life at the Mayfield Consumer Products factory—a longstanding partner of ours.”The National Weather Service said wind speeds reached an estimated 158 to 206 miles an hour at the peak of the storms late Friday. The tornadoes derailed a train and scattered railcars in Earlington, Ky., and sent debris as high as 30,000 feet, the cruising altitude of many passenger jets.
Mr. Beshear said he expects these tornadoes will ultimately be categorized as EF5, the highest level on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, a rating system based on wind speed and damage assessment.
The tornadoes upended daily life in ways large and small. About 25,000 people remained without power in Kentucky, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks utilities’ outage reports. Many houses and buildings are missing roofs, doors and windows, with temperatures in the mid-40s Monday.
School districts throughout southwestern Kentucky canceled school through early January. Hopkins County Schools Superintendent
Amy Smith said that everyone in the community had suffered devastating loss. “(We) will get through this tragedy together,” she said, in a message to families.The state is offering two weeks of free lodging at some public parks for people who have been made homeless. Some county clerks are offering complimentary duplicate marriage certificates and other documents.
Mr. Beshear said President Biden called him three times over the weekend and is planning a visit to Kentucky in the coming days. The governor said he spent Sunday touring the damage and talking with survivors, including in Dawson Springs, hometown of his father, former Gov. Steve Beshear.
Write to Valerie Bauerlein at valerie.bauerlein@wsj.com
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December 14, 2021
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Kentucky Puts Current Death Toll From Tornadoes at 64 - The Wall Street Journal
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