A number of counties in the state were left devastated with the strongest tornado tearing through 200 miles
\n WASHINGTON
\nAt least 50 people are dead after four tornadoes tore through the southeastern US state of Kentucky, its governor told reporters early Saturday, as several storms ravaged swathes of the country.
\nA number of counties in Kentucky were left devastated with the strongest tornado tearing through 200 miles of the state, Governor Andy Beshear said.
\nOn the same night a storm ripped through a massive Amazon warehouse in the state of Illinois where around 100 workers were left trapped inside, local media reported.
\n\u201cI fear that there are more than 50 dead … probably closer to somewhere between 70 and 100, it\u2019s devastating,\u201d Beshear said, adding that it was the \u201cmost severe tornado event in Kentucky\u2019s history.\u201d
\nIn one incident, the roof of a candle factory collapsed, resulting in \u201cmass casualties\u201d in the city of Mayfield, the governor added.
\nPictures and videos shared on social media from Mayfield showed buildings ripped apart by the storm, with bent metal, trees and dislodged bricks scattered across the streets and only the remnants of houses left behind.
\nImages of the tornadoes from US news channels showed a black cylinder sweeping across the ground, illuminated by intermittent blasts of lightning.
\n\u201cBefore midnight I declared a state of emergency,\u201d Beshear said.
\nHe added that scores of search and rescue officials had been deployed to save lives as power outages continued to hit the area.
\n\u2018Prayers\u2019
\nThe tornado came as storms wreaked havoc in multiple US states.
\nHundreds of officials were working through the early hours of Saturday to rescue employees at an Amazon warehouse \u2014 a third of which was reduced to rubble \u2014 who were on the night shift processing orders ahead of the Christmas holidays.
\nThe Collinsville Emergency Management Agency described it as a \u201cmass casualty incident\u201d with \u201cmultiple subjects trapped at Amazon Warehouse.\u201d
\nA tornado warning had been in effect in the area at the time.
\nFootage shared across US news channels and social media of the Amazon warehouse in the city of Edwardsville showed a large part of the facility\u2019s roof ripped off, while one of the walls had collapsed into the building, with rubble strewn across the site.
\nEdwardsville police said in a statement there were \u201cconfirmed fatalities\u201d.
\nIllinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said: \u201cMy prayers are with the people of Edwardsville tonight.\u201d
\n\u201cOur Illinois State Police and Illinois Emergency Management Agency are both coordinating closely with local officials and I will continue to monitor the situation,\u201d he added.
\nIn a statement sent to local media, Amazon spokesperson Richard Rocha said \u201cthe safety and well-being of our employees and partners is our top priority right now. We\u2019re assessing the situation and will share additional information when it\u2019s available.\u201d
\nIn Arkansas, one person was killed and 20 others were trapped after a tornado struck the Monette Manor nursing home, US media reported, with another person killed elsewhere in the state.
\nCraighead county official Marvin Day told local news channels that rescuers had successfully pulled out those trapped in the building and the structure was \u201cpretty much destroyed\u201d.
\nIn Tennessee, at least two people were killed in storm-related incidents, an emergency management official told local media.
\nThe tornadoes tore through the four states \u2014 Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee \u2014 with warnings in effect for Illinois.
\nScientists have warned that climate change is making storms more powerful and increasing their frequency, posing a growing threat to areas where extreme weather events are already common.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A number of counties in the state were left devastated with the strongest tornado tearing through 200 miles WASHINGTON At least 50 people are dead after four tornadoes tore through the southeastern US state of Kentucky, its governor told reporters early Saturday, as several storms ravaged swathes of the country. A number of counties in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":232363,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[483,1595,444],"class_list":{"0":"post-232334","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-dead","9":"tag-kentucky","10":"tag-us"},"yoast_head":"\n