At least 70 dead as tornadoes sweep midwest, leaving many without power – live

• 6.19pm GMT18:19 Hundreds of thousands without power in storm-hit regions
• 3.47pm GMT15:47 Biden: storm deaths are 'unimaginable tragedy'
• 3.22pm GMT15:22 Images of deadly tornadoes emerge
• 1.28pm GMT13:28 Dozens feared dead as tornadoes strike midwest and southern states

Following a deadly outbreak of tornadoes and severe weather across six midwestern and southern states overnight, residents are assessing damages to their homes and businesses. Photos and video from the hardest hit areas show neighborhoods reduced to rubble.

For those who want to help tornado victims, there are several relief funds available, including with the Kentucky Red Cross. United Way of Kentucky is also accepting donations.

More organizations are listed on the WFPL News Louisville website. There also might be opportunities to volunteer for Kentucky relief efforts, both through the state and local Red Cross.

Emergency management authorities in Kentucky have noted that storm-damaged communities “do not need goods at this time” and encourage monetary donations instead.

The American Red Cross is accepting donations for disaster relief across storm-struck areas. According to the Cleveland Fox affiliate, the organization has already deployed teams to Missouri and Arkansas.

After deadly tornadoes and severe storms tore through six states in the midwest and south, hundreds of thousands remain without power.

In Tennessee, 130,401 power customers are without power. In Kentucky, 76,257 do not have electricity, PowerOutage.US said.

Indiana is seeing power outages for 65,433 customers, and 56,247 are without power in Ohio.

The storm system, which had previously caused chaos such as heavy snowfall in the upper Midwest and Great Lakes regions, appears to have caused power outages in Michigan.

According to PowerOutage.US, 280,202 customers in that state are without power.

An 84-year-old woman near Defiance, Missouri was killed by a tornado that tore her house off its foundation. Her husband, also 84 years old, was injured, according to the St Louis Post-Dispatch.

Ollie and Vernon Borgmann were at home when the tornado struck. They were speaking with one of their sons on the phone when the line went dead, the newspaper reported.

“The next thing Vernon remembers is waking up in a field surrounded by debris,” the newspaper reported.

Another one of their sons, Mark Borgmann, told the newspaper that Ollie was sweet, and a “typical grandmother”.

Mark said that rubble from his childhood home was scattered at least one half mile down a nearby highway.

Following the deadly storms that are feared to have killed dozens and injured scores, some have wondered if there have ever been severe tornadoes in December. According to the New York Times, deadly tornadoes are “rare” during this month, but they are not unprecedented.

In 2000, tornadoes tore through Alabama, causing 12 deaths. And tornadoes ripped through Tennessee, Mississippi, and several other nearby states before Christmas in 2015, killing more than one dozen people. Three people died in 2019 when several tornadoes emerged across four southern states in 2019, per the Times.

The tornadoes that resulted in destruction across six midwestern and southern states overnight were part of a storm system that had caused chaos near the Great Lakes and upper Midwest US regions, including extensive snow, the newspaper notes.

Kentucky governor Andy Beshear has described the town of Mayfield, Kentucky, as “ground zero” for destruction wrought by a tornado that traveled more than 200-miles.

“We have half of some of our towns here in western Kentucky that are just gone. It’s hard to see,” Beshear told CNN.

At least 110 people were in a candle factory when the storm hit this town of 10,000, collapsing its roof. Beshear reportedly said that the last successful rescue at the plant was at 3 am local time.

“It looks like a bomb has gone on off here,” Mayfield mayor Kathy Stewart O’Nan told the news network.

Photos and video of Mayfield shows numerous buildings were severely damaged and that some were reduced to piles of rubble. Mayfield’s historic courthouse was among the buildings hit.

President Biden said this morning that he was briefed about the tornadoes that struck six midwest and southern states overnight. In a tweet, Biden described storm deaths as an “unimaginable tragedy”.

There are more details on the extent of the tornadoes that swept through midwest and southern US states – and the destruction they caused.

In Kentucky, at least four tornadoes touched down overnight, leaving a trail of destruction more than 12 counties, according to Reuters. The main tornado moved 227 miles across the state.

Severe weather killed at least three people in Tennessee. Officials said that there were “confirmed fatalities” at the Amazon warehouse in Illinois that was struck by a tornado.

The storms also derailed a freight train in Kentucky, but there were no injuries. In Bowling Green, Kentucky, authorities reported that numerous apartment complexes had suffered major structural damage, and said that some factories collapsed, the Associated Press reported.

The sudden eruption of tornadoes stemmed from a series of overnight thunderstorms. Among those storms was a “super cell storm” that emerged in northeast Arkansas. This storm traveled from Arkansas to Missouri, reaching east to Tennessee and Kentucky, Reuters said.

Dramatic photos of the deadly tornadoes that are thought to have killed dozens, and injured scores, are emerging on social media.

Zach Holder, a meteorologist with Arkansas’ Region 8 News, described the tornado in Monette and Leachville as an “absolute monster.”

Holder also shared a photo taken in Bay, Arkansas from a woman name Kaylee Lawrence.

Reed Timmer, a meteorologist and storm chaser, also posted images of the Monette tornado.

Timmer also posted a photo of a massive tornado approaching Hayti, Missouri.

A worker at the Mayfield, Kentucky candle factory that was hit by a tornado has provided a harrowing account of her experience inside the building. Authorities fear that dozens were killed when the tornado struck the factory.

“It was extremely scary. Everything happened so fast. They had us in the area where you go in case there is a storm,” Kyana Parsons-Perez told the Today show. “We were all there, and then the lights got to flickering, and then all of a sudden we felt a gust … [we] could feel the wind.”

Those in the factory felt it sway a little bit.

“And then boom – everything came down on us. All you heard was screams.”

Parsons-Perez called 911 and then went live on social media in the hopes of securing help. Parsons-Perez was stuck for at least two hours.

“It was absolutely the most terrifying thing I have ever experienced in my life,” Parsons-Perez said.

“I did not think I was going to make it at all.”

Here is the video of Parsons-Perez’s interview.

Meteorologists warn that the deadly storm system continues to pose a threat as it moves north, through Appalachia, toward the northeast.

Weather Channel meteorologists have warned that “we’re not done by a long shot.” They have said that a tornado threat persists for areas in Tennessee such as Nashville, and Lexington, Kentucky.

The storm appears poised to move through northern Georgia and through North Carolina, as it eventually ascends mid-Atlantic states. Images of the storm’s progression shows it extending to New York.

Early reports from the areas hardest struck by these tornadoes have provided some details on fatalities resulting from the massive storm system.

“We believe our death toll from this event will exceed 50 Kentuckians, probably end up closer to 70 to 100 lost lives,” Kentucky governor Andy Beshear commented Saturday morning.

At least two people died at an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Illinois. The warehouse collapsed during the storm. First responders have had to move slowly in their rescue efforts due to dangers from hanging debris, police chief Mike Fillback said in comments reported by CNN.

In Monette, Arkansas, one person died when a tornado damaged a nursing home. In the nearby city of Leachville, Arkansas, a woman died “in a Dollar General store when the storm hit and they could not get out,” the county sheriff told CNN.

More than 30 tornadoes were reported over a 200-mile expanse ranging from Arkansas through Kentucky, according to CNN.

Good morning, readers. The Guardian will be providing live updates on the deadly tornadoes and severe weather that struck six midwest and southern states overnight.

Officials have said that several died and were injured due to these tornadoes and severe weather, but fear that dozens might have been killed. The storm system severely damaged a candle factory in Kentucky, an Amazon warehouse in Illinois, a care home in Arkansas, as well as many homes and buildings.

Kentucky governor Andy Beshear said that many people were feared dead at the candle factory in the city of Mayfield, and described the situation as “tragic,” according to the Associated Press and other news agencies.

“There were about 110 people in it at the time that the tornado hit it,” Beshear reportedly remarked. “We believe we’ll lose at least dozens of those individuals. It’s very hard, really tough, and we’re praying for each and every one of those families.”

More soon.