A dangerous situation broke out in numerous areas in the United States on Friday night. According to the New York Times, at least five states were affected by the tornado outbreak, including Missouri, Kentucky, Arkansas, Illinois and Tennessee. As of Saturday morning, dozens of people have died following the dangerous weather situation. In Kentucky alone, which is where one of the biggest outbreaks appeared to have occurred, at least 50 people had been killed according to the state’s governor, Andy Beshear.ย
NYT reported that these tornadoes were a part of a weather system that has been affecting states in the upper Midwest and western Great Lakes regions. While officials are still assessing the damage across the states, there appears to have been many casualties from this disaster. Three people reportedly died in Tennessee while one individual was reportedly killed at a nursing home in Arkansas. In Illinois, the wall and roof of an Amazon warehouse location collapsed due to the storms in the area. Authorities have not confirmed how many individuals died in the incident, but they did confirm that there were casualties.ย
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The damage stemming from these tornado outbreaks has affected large swaths of people in these states. Thousands of Americans have been left without power, with more than 132,000 homes being affected in Tennessee, 60,000 in Kentucky, 25,000 in Arkansas, 24,000 in Illinois, and 10,000 in Missouri. Gov. Beshear has since declared a state of emergency in Kentucky. On early Saturday morning, Beshear not only declared a state of emergency, but he also called on President Joe Biden to provide federal assistance, per Fox News. He wrote in a letter to Biden that there may be “more than 50” fatalities in the state, specifically referencing a factory that collapsed in Graves County that left workers trapped.ย
“I request that you declare an emergency disaster for the Commonwealth of Kentucky in response to a severe weather system that has produced numerous tornadoes,” Beshear wrote about this disaster. “Kentucky is in need of federal assistance to respond to his event. Power outages are widespread. At this time it is apparent there is a need for emergency generators to power critical facilities.”
Beshear took part in a press conference early Saturday. At the time, he stated that a single tornado was to blame for much of the damage that took place in the state. Beshear said that this tornado ravaged the state for at least 200 miles and that there were at least four tornadoes that affected the state during the course of the night. The governor stated that the death toll may be “more than 50,” but he also acknowledged that it could reach between 70 and 100 individuals across five or more counties. He stated that this could be considered the “most severe weather event in Kentucky’s history.”
