Death toll rising after severe storms across the US
At least six Amazon workers have been killed and dozens are missing after a warehouse collapsed as deadly storms tore across the US. SEE PHOTOS, VIDEO
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Six Amazon workers have been confirmed dead after a series of tornadoes roared through a warehouse near St Louis, ripping off its roof and causing concrete to collapse.
At least 45 Amazon employees made it out safely from the rubble of the Edwardsville, Illinois facility, fire chief James Whiteford said.
Authorities had given up hope of finding more survivors as they shifted from rescue to recovery efforts that were expected to last days.
It was unclear how many workers were still missing as Amazon did not have an exact count of the number of people working in the sorting and delivery centre at the time the tornadoes hit, Whiteford said.
The tornado and deadly storm system ripped through multiple US states, killing at least 100 people and leaving dozens trapped in buildings.
The storms struck Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, and Illinois on Friday night, local time.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said the death toll is expected to rise to 100.
“We were pretty sure that we would lose over 50 Kentuckians, I’m now certain that that number is north of 70. It may in fact end up exceeding 100 before the day is done.”
In Edwardsvillle, Illinois, officials were waiting to release the names of the victims of the Amazon collapse, but the mother of maintenance worker Clayton Cope was at the scene and said she learned her son had died.
Hundreds of officials were working through the early hours of Saturday to rescue employees at the warehouse, a third of which was reduced to rubble, who were on the night shift processing orders ahead of the Christmas holidays.
Police Chief Mike Fillback said first responders would work at the scene “until everyone is accounted for”.
“You have concrete, and you have things hanging. It’s quite windy outside, so things are unstable, so they have to shore those things up so that they can be safe,” Fillback said.
Connor Jones told Fox2 his stepfather was trapped inside the warehouse.
“Our mother is basically hysterical at this point, trying to find out what’s going on. She’s really worried. We’re worried too. At this point, I’m starting to get pretty scared that he got hurt or worse,” he said.
Sarah Bierman, whose husband works at the warehouse, said she was “worried sick”.
“I talked to him about eight o’clock tonight, a little before I texted him, and he was returning to the warehouse to drop his van off,” she said.
“And I haven’t heard from him since, I just heard through the news and we live in Edwardsville; we lost power. So I decided to come down here to see what was going on, and I had no idea the building looked that bad. And I’m just; I’m worried sick,” she said.
Another woman at the scene told how her husband was inside the warehouse when it collapsed.
“He was on the phone with me while it was happening,” Aisha White told KMOV.
“The tornado was hitting the back of the building, the trucks were coming in, I told him to jump out the truck and duck. We watched the building go up, stuff hitting the cars, I told him I was on my way.”
#BREAKING: Edwardsville PD confirms there are fatalities on site here at the Amazon fulfillment center in Edwardsville,IL. Next of kin are being notified. Search and rescue efforts still going on. Prayers to these families who are affected. @FOX2now
— Amelia Mugavero (@AmeliaMtv) December 11, 2021
Amazon spokesman Richard Rocha told the New York Post: “The safety and wellbeing of our employees and partners is our top priority right now.
“We’re assessing the situation and will share additional information when it’s available.”
One official told KTVI-TV that up to 100 people were believed to be in the building, working the night shift when the tornadoes hit.
“It is a significant, massive disaster event,” state emergency management director Michael Dorsett said, as search-and-rescue efforts are ongoing.
Governor Beshear reported that there were likely over 50 deaths statewide in Kentucky as of Saturday morning as tornado sirens sounded across Nashville, Tennessee: https://t.co/TksDEVobERpic.twitter.com/xYHHTvdHOZ
— Breaking Weather by AccuWeather (@breakingweather) December 11, 2021
This violent long track tornado is approaching Benton, Kentucky (9:40p CT). It has been on the ground for over 100 miles across parts of 4 states (AR, MO, TN, KY). At least two people have been killed along the path. pic.twitter.com/LzPXAkc2Qw
— James Spann (@spann) December 11, 2021
Elsewhere, the tornadoes killed several people, trapped dozens, and flattened and destroyed buildings.
The NOAA Storm Prediction Centre confirmed the severity of the deadly storm system and the National Weather Service is on high alert as more severe weather continues over the weekend.
This just happened in Bowling Green, Kentucky. News station reporting live about a tornado approaching and the feed cut out shortly after this. Scary sight. pic.twitter.com/naDWqddAWD
— Hunter King (@__HunterKing__) December 11, 2021
US President Joe Biden tweeted that the massive storms had inflicted an “unimaginable tragedy” on the area and vowed to provide all needed federal aid.
Pictures and videos shared on social media from the city of Mayfield in Kentucky showed buildings torn apart by the storm, with bent metal, trees and dislodged bricks scattered across the streets and only the remnants of houses left behind with Christmas two weeks away.
Images of the tornadoes from US news channels showed a black cylinder sweeping across the ground, illuminated by intermittent blasts of lightning.
In one incident, the roof of a candle factory collapsed, resulting in “mass casualties” in the city of Mayfield.
“Mayfield in Graves County will be ground zero,” Kentucky emergency management director Michael Dossett told CNN Saturday morning.
“The city took the heart, the hardest hit. There is massive devastation in that city,” he said.
The governor declared a state of emergency before midnight and said scores of search and rescue officials had been deployed to save lives as power outages continued to hit the area.
He said it was “the most severe tornado event in Kentucky’s history”.
Around 200,000 homes in Kentucky and Tennessee were left without power, according to PowerOutage.com.
The Graves County Emergency Management Office says if you live in Mayfield and can walk safely, you should head to Fire Station House 1 at 211 E Broadway street. There will be buses to help transport people. @JackKaneWPSD shared these photos of some of the damage there. pic.twitter.com/YJUQv5HnoD
— WPSD Local 6 (@WPSDLocal6) December 11, 2021
In Tennessee, two storm-related deaths were reported in Lake County in the state’s northwestern corner, Dean Flener, spokesman for the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency said.
At least 20 people were trapped inside the nursing home in Monette, Arkansas where one person was reported killed and five others were injured.
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