From the Liveblog of
Sunday, December 12, 2021
Race to rescue survivors as US tornadoes kill at least 94
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US rescuers are desperately searching for survivors after tornadoes killed at least 94 and left towns in ruin, with emergency crews racing against time to find dozens still missing from a collapsed Kentucky factory.
US President Joe Biden calls the wave of twisters, including one that traveled more than 200 miles (320 kilometers), “one of the largest” storm outbreaks in American history.
“It’s a tragedy,” a shaken Biden, who pledged support for the affected states, says in televised comments. “And we still don’t know how many lives are lost and the full extent of the damage.”
With the death toll all but certain to rise, scores of search and rescue officers were helping stunned citizens across the US heartland sift through the rubble of their homes and businesses overnight.
More than 80 people are dead in Kentucky alone, many of them workers at a candle factory in Mayfield, the state’s Governor Andy Beshear says as he raised the confirmed toll by 10 fatalities.
And the forecast was grim. “That number is going to exceed more than 100,” Beshear tells CNN.
Meanwhile, at least six have died in an Amazon warehouse in Illinois where they were on the night shift processing orders ahead of Christmas.
Emergency crews worked through the night into Sunday at both locations, but the Kentucky governor’s somber remarks suggested his state’s residents should brace for the worst.
The Times of Israel Community.