64 dead, more than 100 still unaccounted in Kentucky tornado disaster

Rescuers continued to search for survivors Monday after deadly tornadoes tore through Kentucky and neighboring states over the weekend, decimating entire towns and leaving dozens dead.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Monday that 64 people in the state were confirmed dead. He added that 105 people were unaccounted for, and at least 70 people were likely dead.

“But again, with this amount of damage and rubble, it will be a week or even more before we have a final count on the number of lost lives,” he said. The “mountain of waste” included perished livestock.

Of those who are dead, 18 are unidentified. But the ones who have been identified range in age from five months to 86 years, Beshear said, his voice cracking. Six of the dead are younger than 18.

Flags at government buildings will be flown at half staff for a week beginning Tuesday, and a state fund will pay for the funerals of those who have died, Beshear said.

The series of unseasonal storms ripped through several states across the Midwest and South overnight on Friday, leveling a candle factory and entire communities in Kentucky while also hitting a nursing home in Arkansas and an Amazon distribution center in Illinois.

Climate change likely made the tornado outbreak worse by altering or amplifying the ingredients — like higher-than-average December temperatures — that produced the tornado outbreak.

On Sunday, President Joe Biden approved a major disaster declaration for Kentucky, providing federal aid to those in at least eight counties after the storm destroyed homes and left thousands without power.

Beshear said he was “grateful” for the declaration, which was the fastest he had ever seen. More than 300 National Guardsmen were on the ground in Kentucky, while 30,000 homes remained without power.

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Dozens of families were mourning, with the Kentucky governor among them as he confirmed that he too had lost loved ones in the storm.

Many others were still waiting to hear whether family members had survived, with spotty cellphone service in affected areas making it even more difficult to determine who was still missing.

“I’m really sorry,” Beshear said Sunday to those still searching for answers. “You’re not supposed to lose people like this, and to not know and not have the information has got to make it that much harder.”

“This is the deadliest tornado event we have ever had,” Beshear said Sunday.

At least eight people were confirmed dead after the roof of a candle factory in Mayfield collapsed, with survivors describing harrowing scenes.

Mayfield Mayor Kathy Stewart O’Nan told NBC’s “Nightly News” that the town “is gone.”

“We knew it was bad, but not till the sun started coming up did we look at it and saw matchsticks,” she said. “Our hearts are broken.”

Only one Mayfield pharmacy was operational, with another expected to open Monday. Beshear advised people to bring their medication bottles, though noting grimly “the pharmacy recognizes that you probably don’t have them.”

And Mayfield was not the only town left destroyed by the disaster, with Beshear telling CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday: “I’ve…