Devastating details emerge after dozens of tornados 'kill 100 people'
One of the most devastating tornado events in US history has torn a trail of destruction spanning more than 300 kilometres across central and southern states.
Officials fear more than 100 people may have been killed.
The unprecedented outbreak overnight saw more than 30 twisters rip through at least six states, including Missouri, Tennessee and Mississippi, leaving buildings beaten down to their slabs, cars overturned and trees stripped of branches.
This morning, I was briefed on the devastating tornadoes across the central U.S. To lose a loved one in a storm like this is an unimaginable tragedy. We’re working with Governors to ensure they have what they need as the search for survivors and damage assessments continue.
— President Biden (@POTUS) December 11, 2021
There’s widespread chaos as rescuers scramble to access the damage and search for survivors beneath the rubble.
US President Joe Biden has announced federal resources will be directed to the locations impacted by the series of tornadoes.
Kentucky reduced to 'matchsticks'
Some of the worst destruction was centred in Western Kentucky, where at least 78 people have been killed - many of whom were working at a candle factory when the roof caved in late on Friday (local time).
The town of Mayfield was reduced to "matchsticks", its mayor said.
"It’s indescribable - the level of devastation is unlike anything that I have ever seen," Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said.
"This has been the most devastating tornado event in our state's history."
Mr Beshear said 40 of the 110 workers had been rescued from the factory so far.
"Earlier this morning at about 5 am, we were pretty sure that we would lose over 50 Kentuckians. I’m now certain that number is north of 70. It may, in fact, end up exceeding 100 before the day is done," he added.
Among the survivors is Kyanna Parsons-Perez, a worker at the plant, who said employees could hear howling winds as the lights began to flicker.
"We could feel the wind ... then we did a little rock," she told NBC. "And then boom everything came down on us."
Nearby fire and police stations in Mayfield have also been reduced to rubble, hindering rescue efforts.
State officials have declared a mass causality event.
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At least two dead at nursing home
Two residents at a nursing home are dead and five others seriously injured after a tornado hit Monette, a city in the southern US state of Arkansas.
"It just took a direct hit from the tornado," Craighead County Judge Marvin Day said.
"We were very blessed that more people weren't killed or injured in that. It could have been a whole lot worse.”
Another person lost their life at a Dollar General Store a few kilometres away.
"It really sounded like a train roaring through town,” Lt. Chuck Brown of the Mississippi County Sheriff's Office in Arkansas said.
In Illinois, an Amazon warehouse collapsed in the town of Edwardsville, killing at least two workers. The roof appeared to have been peeled back off the metal skeleton of the building.
A CSX company freight train in western Kentucky also derailed in the wild weather, although a company spokesperson has confirmed no crew were injured.
With Reuters
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