Severe weather caused multiple tornadoes late Friday night and early Saturday morning in Kentucky, Illinois.
Dozens of tornadoes were counted, the worst of which hit western Kentucky, NPR’s David Schaper reports.
The National Weather Service continued in the region on Saturday morning. At this time, the death toll is 50, but he said he expects that number to rise.
“We believe our death toll from this event will exceed 50 Kentuckians, probably end up close to 70 to 100 lost lives,” he said.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said he’s declared a state of emergency and reached out to President Biden to initiate a federal emergency declaration.
“This is one of the toughest nights in Kentucky history,” Beshear said. “We will make it through this. We will rebuild.”
Reports on social media show severe damage from Friday night’s storm. Two children in Hopkins County, Ky., were found alive in a bathtub that had been blown away from their house.
Amazon said they would provide support for employees in the area.
“We’re deeply saddened by the news that members of our Amazon family passed away as a result of the storm in Edwardsville, IL,” Kelly Nante, an Amazon spokesperson, said in a statement to NPR.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their loved ones, and everyone impacted by the storm,” Nantel said. “We also want to thank all the first responders for their ongoing efforts on scene.”
Once there is an update to this story, we will make sure to keep you posted.
