‘At least 100 dead’, apocalyptic scenes, after US hit by wave of tornadoes
- President Joe Biden calls tornado outbreak likely ‘one of the largest in our history’ as rescuers desperately search for survivors
- The western Kentucky town of Mayfield was reduced to ‘matchsticks’
Rescuers were desperately searching for survivors on Sunday after dozens of devastating tornadoes tore through six US states, leaving more than 100 people feared dead, dozens missing and towns in ruin.
“It’s a tragedy,” a shaken Biden, who pledged support for the affected states, said in televised comments. “And we still don’t know how many lives are lost and the full extent of the damage.”
Scores of search and rescue officials were helping stunned citizens across the US heartland sift through the rubble of their homes and businesses overnight.
Authorities said they had little hope of finding survivors beneath the rubble. Instead rescuers, volunteers and residents were due to begin the long process of recovering what they could and clearing out fields of debris.
Kentucky residents, many without power, gas or even a roof over their heads, woke on Sunday to a landscape scarred by a string of powerful tornadoes that officials fear killed at least 100 people while obliterating buildings, homes and anything else in their way.
More than 80 people were believed to have been killed in Kentucky alone, many of them workers at a candle factory, the state’s governor Andy Beshear said on Sunday as he raised the confirmed toll by 10 fatalities.
Six workers were killed at an Amazon warehouse in Illinois. A nursing home was struck in Missouri. More than 70,000 people were left without power in Tennessee.
