Source: Xinhua Net
Beijing, 12 Dec (Xinhua) -- Many states in central the United States were hit by at least 30 tornadoes on the night of the 10th, causing more than 80 deaths as of the 11th. Kentucky was the hardest hit, with perhaps more than 100 victims.
"Like a bomb blown up"
Kentucky Governor Andy Behir said at a press conference on the 11th that Kentucky was hit by multiple tornadoes from the evening of the 10th to the morning of the 11th.
After the tornado in Mayfield, Kentucky, on December 11, USA. (Xinhua News Agency, photo by Carromina Sanchez)
Videos and photos uploaded to social media show brick buildings in downtown Mayfield, Kentucky, flattened, parked cars nearly buried in rubble, a Glives County courthouse spire collapsed and a nearby church partially collapsed.
"It looks like it was blown up by a bomb." Alex Goodman, a 31-year-old resident, told AFP.
The tornado has killed more than 70 people in Kentucky, many of them workers at a candle factory in Mayfield. According to Behir, the candle factory was destroyed by a tornado, and there were about 110 workers in the factory at the time, and about 40 people are currently rescued, and it would be a "miracle" if survivors could be found under the rubble.
"This is the worst, most destructive, deadliest tornado event in Kentucky's history." Behill said he was concerned that the number of people killed in the state could exceed 100.
Page Tingle drove 4 hours to the candle factory, hoping to find his mother, Jill Monroe, who worked at the factory. "It was a disaster," she said. ”
Behir declared a state of emergency in Kentucky, and 189 state National Guards officers came to the rescue.
Many states suffer heavy losses
In edwardsville, a southern Illinois city, an Amazon warehouse was hit by a tornado, trapping about 100 workers.
Edwardsville Fire Chief James Whiteford told reporters: "45 people have escaped safely from the building, 1 person was taken by plane to the district hospital for treatment, and 6 people died." ”
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said on social media Twitter that he was "heartbroken" by the death of the workers.
According to AFP, the tornado also killed at least two people in Arkansas and four and one in Tennessee and Missouri.
According to the U.S. power tracking website, more than 500,000 users in multiple states lost power due to tornadoes.
On December 11, in Mayfield, Kentucky, A school bus was torn down by a tornado. (Xinhua News Agency, photo by Carromina Sanchez)
US President Joseph Biden said on the 11th that this may be one of the largest tornadoes in US history. He plans to travel to the affected areas, promising full federal assistance.
The United States is known as the "home of tornadoes" and produces thousands of tornadoes every year. However, according to weather forecasters, tornadoes appear unusually during the cooler months. Victor Gensini, a professor of geography and atmospheric sciences at Northern Illinois University, said the unusual heat and humidity created the environment for extreme weather events at this time of year.
In April 2011, a super tornado ravaged more than a dozen U.S. states, and from 8 a.m. on the 27th of the month to 8:00 p.m. on the 28th, the number of tornadoes reached a record 312, killing 340 people in 24 hours. On May 22 of the same year, a tornado struck Joplin, Missouri, killing at least 142 people, making it the largest single fatality since the National Weather Service recorded.