At least 64 people are believed to be dead and 105 are still missing in the aftermath of the devastating tornadoes in Kentucky, according to Gov.Andy Beshear.
The tornadoes also ripped through anAmazon warehouse in Illinois, anursing home in Arkansasand parts of Missouri, Mississippi and Tennessee, leaving survivors heartbroken and unsure how to move forward.
“It sounded like the whole house had fallen on top over our heads,” Allison Laup, who lives in a rural area of Defiance, Missouri with her husband and three kids, tells PEOPLE.
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Samantha Costello, a Kentucky resident who recently learned that her 3-year-old neighbor was killed, recalls of the terrifying moment: “All I kept saying to myself on the highway — because I was literally right in the middle of the tornado driving — I kept praying, please let me get to my kids. Please let me get to my kids.'”
Damage from the tornadoes in Kentucky.Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty
Meanwhile, Jordan Smith, who lives in Bowling Green, Kentucky, says that the top level of his townhome was completely blown off after he took shelter. He had to carry his 100-pound dog on his shoulders while escaping the destruction.
“Honestly, if I had been a couple of minutes slower, I might not be having this conversation,” says Smith.
“It’s definitely something I’ve never experienced,” says Stephanie Matheny, who returned to her Mayfield, Kentucky home during the storm to save her pets. “It’s just devastating… Every time I closed my eyes, I just pictured my home and debris,my [fur] babies underneath the debris.”
Damage from the tornadoes in Kentucky.BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty
Of the 64 confirmed dead in Kentucky, Beshear announced that the victims ranged in age from 5 months to 86 years, and six of those individuals were younger than 18. He also noted that 18 of the deceased are currently unidentified.
Addressingthe Mayfield candle factory that collapsed on Friday, the governor stated that 110 individuals were inside at the time and 94 are believed to be alive and accounted for. Eight are confirmed dead, while another eight are currently missing.
Fatalities in other states have also added up. In Illinois,six people who were inside an Amazon warehouse died, according to theEdwardsville Police Department.
Twenty others were trapped inside the Arkansas nursing home, where at least one person was confirmed dead and at least five were injured, CBS affiliateKIROreported, citing the Craighead County Coroner.
Beshear emphasized on Monday that Kentucky’s counts were considered “fluid” and the numbers may change in the coming days and weeks as crews sift through the debris, which the governor described as a “mountain of waste.”
Structurally, Beshear said “thousands of homes were damaged, if not destroyed” across 18 counties in Kentucky and that “it may be weeks before we determine the levels of destruction.”
Joan Turnbow, who lost her entire home in Dresden, Tennessee, tells PEOPLE: “We’ve just been trying to salvage what we could, but everything’s like a total loss. We lost all our vehicles, everything. Everything’s ruined. So we’re pretty much going to be having to start all over.”
Damage from the tornadoes in Kentucky.Brett Carlsen/Getty
On Saturday, Besheardeclared a state of emergencyin Kentucky and activated 181 guardsmen from the National Guard in response to the tornado devastation.
“I’m not doing so well today. I’m not so sure many of us are,” Beshear said on Monday. “We’re gonna keep putting one foot in front of the other and push through this… to the people of western Kentucky, we’re not going anywhere. We’re gonna be with you today, we’ll be with you tomorrow, and we’re gonna be there with you to rebuild.”
While authorities across the states work to confirm the exact death toll, some of the victims have already been publicly identified.
In Kentucky, Graves County Deputy Robert Daniel and District Judge Brian Crick were confirmed as two of the victims, according toCNN.
Daniel, a 47-year-old father and grandfather, was working his first night shift at the candle factory, supervising inmates ona work-release program, the outlet reported.
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Crick, a judge in the McLean and Muhlenberg counties, was a father of three who lived in Bremen, according toKentucky.com. He was at home with two of his children and his wife when the tornado swept through.
His 17-year-old son, 16-year-old daughter and wife are being treated for minor injuries at the hospital.
In Illinois, the Edwardsville Police Departmentidentified the six victimsinside the Amazon warehouse as Deandre S. Morrow, 28, of St. Louis, Missouri; Kevin D. Dickey, 62, of Carlyle, Illinois; Clayton Lynn Cope, 29, of Alton, Illinois; Etheria S. Hebb, 34, of St. Louis; Larry E. Virden, 46, of Collinsville, Illinois; and Austin J. McEwen, 26, of Edwardsville, Illinois.
According to CNN, Cope was a U.S. Navy veteran who would’ve turned 30 in just a few weeks.
His mother, Carla Cope, told the outlet her son was “a really good kid” who was “big-hearted” and “would do anything for anybody.”
His grandfather, Billy McEwen, tells PEOPLE that Austin was a “great, great person.”
“He never bothered anybody,” Billy says. “He helped whoever he could.”
source: people.com
