Time.news – The “series of tornadoes” that hit the Southwest and the Modwest it is “one of the worst” in US history. US president Joe Biden said so. “It’s a tragedy”, he said, “and we still don’t know the exact number of victims and the extent of the damage”, while at least 78 confirmed deaths, of which more than 70 in Kentucky. the president announced a state of emergency.
Biden assured that he intended to go to Kentucky but stressed that he did not want to “obstruct” the rescue operations. Meteorological phenomena, he added, are “more intense” with global warming.
At least four tornadoes have hit the state and one of them was unusually violent and prolonged considering the time of year: when it hit the ground, it hit the ground. traveled for about 320 kilometers. The governor has no doubts, it was “the most serious event of its kind in Kentucky history“.
Should it be confirmed that he remained on the ground without interruption, its trail of destruction will be the longest in US history, the first tornado to cross four states.
The worst was Graves County, particularly the town of Mayfield, 10,000 inhabitants, where a factory collapsed in which more than a hundred people were working at that time. The exact number of victims has yet to be ascertained.
A hundred miles away in Hopkins County, rushing winds derailed a train. The governor declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard with the State Police but the damage caused in some areas is so serious as to be “difficult even to explain in words”. The downed power lines and trees thrown onto the streets made rescue operations complicated.
According to the weather authorities (the Storm Prediction Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), 32 tornadoes have touched the ground in the last few hours in five states of the country: Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee.
In Illinois, a football-field-long wall collapsed at an Amazon fulfillment center on the outskirts of St. Louis and at least two victims are confirmed; among other things, after the collapse, some employees were trapped inside.
In Arkansas, the roof of a retirement home was uncovered and even in Missouri the roofs have been torn down. And it’s not over because now the bad weather is moving east, from northern Louisiana to Ohio where thunderstorms, even strong ones, are expected until the evening.
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