Deadly tornadoes in South and Midwest: Dozens dead as rescuers search for survivors

(NEW YORK) — At least 78 people across five U.S. states have been confirmed dead after a swarm of tornadoes tore through communities in the South and the Midwest over the weekend.

There were at least 40 tornadoes reported across nine states between Friday night and early Saturday morning — unusual for December in the United States. Kentucky was the worst-hit state, with at least 64 confirmed fatalities, according to Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who said that figure “is fluid” and “will change.”

“Undoubtedly, there will be more,” Beshear told reporters. “We believe it will certainly be above 70, maybe even 80. But again, 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.”

The governor, who has two relatives among the dead, fought back tears as he revealed the age range of the known victims. He said 18 bodies have yet to be identified.

“Of the ones that we know, the age range is 5 months to 86 years old and six are younger than 18,” he said.

Kentucky alone was hit by at least four tornadoes, including one that stayed on the ground for some 200 miles, “devastating anything in its path,” according to Beshear. At least 18 counties in Kentucky reported lives lost, while 18 counties reported damages. As of Monday morning, some 30,000 homes in the southeastern state were still without power, according to Beshear.

“Thousands of homes are damaged, if not entirely destroyed,” he said. “We’re not going to let any of our folks go homeless.”

Beshear acknowledged that it will take time to rebuild from what he described as the “worst tornado event” in Kentucky’s history and doubted whether it would have been possible to be better prepared.

“I don’t think anyone could have predicted something as devastating as this,” he said. “I don’t fault warning systems, I don’t fault training.”

He then posed the question: “How do you tell people that there’s going to be one of the most powerful tornadoes in history and it’s going to come directly through your building?”

At least 300 members of the Kentucky National Guard have been deployed across the state to help local authorities remove debris and search for survivors as well as victims, according to Beshear.

“There is significant debris removal going on right now, but there is just a mountain of waste. It is going to take a significant amount of time,” he said. “We’ve got significant livestock dead in all of the areas — there’s ongoing cleanup with that, too.”

In an interview with ABC News’ David Muir on Sunday, the Kentucky governor said rescuers have pulled some survivors from the rubble.

“We are still hoping for miracles,” Beshear added. “We are finding people and every single moment is incredible.”

Speaking to reporters Monday morning, Beshear said many of the reported deaths — at least 20 — were in Kentucky’s Graves County, where Mayfield is the county seat. Another 13 deaths were reported in Hopkins County; 11 in Muhlenberg County; 12 in Warren County; 4 in Caldwell County; one in Marshall County; one in Taylor County; one in Fulton County; and one in Lyon County, according to the governor.

Among those killed were eight night-shift workers at a candle factory in Mayfield, a city of about 10,000 people in western Kentucky. There were 110 employees inside the Mayfield Consumer Products facility when a tornado closed in late Friday night. Ninety-four workers have since been found safe while eight remain missing, Mayfield Consumer Products CEO Troy Propes told ABC News.

State officials are working to confirm that count from Mayfield Consumer Products, according to the Kentucky governor.

“We feared much, much worse and, again, I pray that it’s accurate,” Beshear told reporters Monday morning, noting that “15-plus feet of wreckage” along with a lack of cellular service made it difficult to determine how many individuals made it out of the destroyed facility alive.

One of the survivors, Kyanna Parsons, recalled hunkering down at the candle factory with her coworkers when the tornado hit. She said she felt a gust of wind and her ears popped. The lights flickered before going out completely and the roof of the building suddenly collapsed, she said.

“Everybody just starts screaming,” Parsons told ABC News during an interview Sunday.

“I definitely had the fear that I wasn’t gonna make it,” she added. “It’s a miracle any of us got out of there.”

Mayfield Mayor Kathy Stewart O’Nan said she was at the scene of the destroyed factory the following morning. She recalled seeing first responders from Louisville, Kentucky’s largest city, more than 200 miles away, “who had already gotten there, who had got in their trucks as quick as they could and come to help us.”

“The offers from all over the United States are overwhelming,” O’Nan told ABC News’ Robin Roberts during an interview Monday. “We are so blessed with the state and federal support.”

The mayor said her city lost its sewage treatment plant and a water tower, in addition to many homes and businesses. Mayfield still has no power, natural gas or flowing water, according to O’Nan.

“The immediate needs of our city people and our responders are being met with just wonderful donations,” she said. “But our infrastructure is damaged so severely that getting that up and running is our absolute greatest priority at this time.”

O’Nan, who lives about four blocks from the center of the city’s downtown area, said she knew from watching the weather forecast on the news last week that this storm would be “different.”

“This was not a storm that us Kentuckians like to go out on the porch and watch roll by,” she said.

When the tornado touched down on Friday night, O’Nan said she took shelter in the basement of her home and waited there until she heard it pass overhead.

“That is a horrifying sound that I hope I never hear again,” she said.

A few minutes later, O’Nan said, she got a call from the city’s fire chief saying he couldn’t get the firetrucks or ambulances out of the bay at the fire station because the doors wouldn’t open. He ultimately had to attach a chain to his truck to pry the doors wide so firefighters and emergency workers could be dispatched, according to O’Nan.

“To watch them work tirelessly as they have during the last two days so far has just been heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time,” the mayor said.

“When I’m ever asked what’s the greatest asset of our community, it is always our people,” she added. “We’ve had small tragedies before and every time immediately the people bond together. I’ve seen that so much now, but we’re joined by so many people from all across the commonwealth, all across the United States.”

Meanwhile, six people were killed in Illinois, where a tornado hit an Amazon facility. Four others were killed in Tennessee. There were two deaths reported in Arkansas and another two in Missouri, according to local officials.

On average, there are 69 tornado-related fatalities in the U.S. each year, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The deadliest tornado on record to hit Kentucky occurred on March 27, 1890. There were 76 deaths.

U.S. President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency in Kentucky on Saturday, ordering federal assistance to support the local response efforts. On Sunday night, Biden updated the declaration, making federal funding available to affected individuals in the Kentucky counties of Caldwell, Fulton, Graves, Hopkins, Marshall, Muhlenberg, Taylor and Warren. He also made it possible for residents to get assistance, such as grants for temporary housing or business repairs.

Kentucky’s governor said Biden is planning to visit the state to tour the devastation and meet with officials.

“Biden called me three times on Saturday and has moved faster than we’ve ever seen on getting us the aid we need,” Beshear told reporters Monday morning. “We will welcome him here and we will thank him for his help and, sadly, we will show him the worst tornado damage imaginable — certainly the worst in our state history.”

Beshear has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff across Kentucky from sunrise on Tuesday until sundown in honor of those who were killed or impacted by the tornadoes. He asked other states to join in.

Michael Dossett, director of Kentucky’s Division of Emergency Management, praised the swift federal response during Monday’s press briefing, but cautioned that the restoration efforts on the ground “will go on for years to come.”

“I can tell you from just being a veteran of now 17 disasters, it takes time to get wheels rolling,” Dossett said. “This is a massive event — the largest and most devastating in Kentucky’s history.”

ABC News’ Patrick Doherty, Matt Foster, Jakeira Gilbert, Max Golembo, Will Gretsky and Will McDuffie contributed to this report.

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