At least 64 people have died in Kentucky from devastating tornadoes that left a trail of destruction across the US state, the governor says, with 14 people confirmed killed in other states.
Two days after the tornadoes hit, officials are still struggling to establish the toll as emergency responders pick through the rubble of thousands of damaged or destroyed homes and buildings.
“Undoubtedly there will be more (dead). We believe that it will certainly be above 70, maybe even 80,” says Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear.
Pete Desai, owner of the Cardinal Motel in Bowling Green, Kentucky surveys tornado damage on December 12, 2021. (Gunnar Word / AFP)
Thousands of people have been left homeless by what Beshear has described as the state’s worst storm on record.
Some 105 people in Kentucky remain unaccounted for, and “it may be weeks before we have final counts on both deaths and levels of destruction,” he says.
Communities are also digging out in five other states where tornadoes touched down Friday night into Saturday, in what US President Joe Biden has described as “one of the largest” storm outbreaks in American history.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
From the Liveblog of
Monday, December 13, 2021
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
