The governor of Kentucky (United States), Andy Beshear, confirmed this Monday that at least 64 people lost their lives due to the chain of tornadoes registered over the weekend, a figure lower than the 70 that the authorities were considering in recent hours but which will “undoubtedly” increase as search efforts increase in the affected areas.
Weather services have recorded about 50 tornadoes between Friday and Saturday in Kentucky, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio and Tennessee. The level of destruction made fear at least a hundred dead, although for now 64 have been confirmed.
Beshear, who appeared before the media this Monday, has assured that the balance “will surely be above 70, perhaps 80”. “We could take weeks to have a real count of both deaths and destruction,” he said, before noting that there are more than a hundred missing.
Among the victims already identified there are at least six minors, the smallest of them barely five months old. The governor has ordered that all the flags of public institutions fly at half-staff for a week in honor of all these deceased, reports the CNN network.
Beshear estimates the number of homes destroyed in “thousands” and in towns like Dawson Spring, in the western part of the state, the devastation is practically absolute. The mayor, Chris Smiley, has assured that the area is a real “chaos”, with 75 percent of the community destroyed: “It is the worst I have ever seen.”
The governor has addressed the citizens of the state, especially those of the western part, with an emotional speech in which he has promised that the Government and the population will be on his side. “We are not going anywhere. We will be with you today, we will be with you tomorrow and we will be with you in rebuilding,” he said.
