Up to 100 feared dead after tornadoes topple buildings in Kentucky

As many as 100 people may have been killed after tornadoes ripped through Kentucky. 

The state is still assessing the death toll after freak weather conditions caused buildings to collapse overnight. 

The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Centre identified more than 20 different tornadoes across southeastern US states.

Kentucky governor Andy Beshear told a press conference the powerful storms were ‘the most severe tornado event in Kentucky’s history’ and more than 56,000 people are without power.

The governor said the destruction had centred on the west of the state, with Graves County bearing the brunt and more than a dozen counties impacted.

He added the city of Mayfield had been ‘devastated’ after being hit ‘as hard as just about any town…has ever been hit’.

The collapse of the roof at a candle factory in the city is expected to be ‘a mass casualty event’ and said the effect had been ‘tragic’.

The governor added: ‘There were about 110 people in it at the time that the tornado hit it.

‘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.’

He warned Kentuckians to brace for news of deaths from several counties, with the toll expected to exceed 50 and rise to between 70 and 100.

A state of emergency has been declared and the National Guard and water supplies are being urgently distributed in the area.

The weather system touched down on land for 200 miles and may have been comprised of four separate tornadoes, an ‘incredibly rare’ event which could turn out to be the largest ever recorded in the state.

Official figures are yet to be confirmed but a number of tragic stories are already coming through from neighbouring states.

In Tennessee, the severe weather killed at least three people, the Washington Post quoted Dean Flener, spokesman for the state’s Emergency Management Agency, as saying.

At least one person was reportedly killed and five were injured when a tornado shredded the roof of a nursing home in Monette in northern Arkansas.

In Illinois, authorities said many people were trapped after a roof partially collapsed at an Amazon.com Inc warehouse near St. Louis late on Friday, after tornadoes and strong storms blew through the area.

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