Dozens of devastating tornadoes ripped through five US states overnight, leaving more than 70 people dead Saturday in Kentucky—many of them workers at a candle factory—and inflicting deadly damage at a sprawling Amazon warehouse in Illinois.
December 11,2021 Dozens of devastating tornadoes ripped through five US states overnight, leaving more than 70 people dead Saturday in Kentucky—many of them workers at a candle factory—and inflicting deadly damage at a sprawling Amazon warehouse in Illinois. The western Kentucky town of Mayfield was reduced to „matchsticks,“ its mayor said. The small town of 10,000 people appeared post-apocalyptic in drone footage posted by storm-chaser Brandon Clement: city blocks leveled, with almost nothing salvageable; historic homes and buildings beaten down to their slabs; tree trunks stripped of their branches; cars overturned in fields. „It is indescribable—the level of devastation is unlike anything I have ever seen,“ Kentucky governor Andy Beshear said after rushing to Mayfield. „This will be, I believe, the deadliest tornado system to ever run through Kentucky.“ Beshear said it was clear that the death toll in his state was already „north of 70“ and could end up „exceeding 100 before the day is done.“ Referring to the candle factory, where a roof collapsed, he said: „We’re going to lose a lot of lives in that facility. It’s a very dire situation.“ CNN played a heart-rending tape of an urgent plea posted on Facebook by one of the factory’s employees. „We are trapped, please, y’all, get us some help,“ a woman says, her voice quavering as a co-worker can be heard moaning in the background.
