Kentucky Governor Updates Tornado Casualty Data as Total of 64 Found Dead, 105 Missing

During an interview on 12 December, Governor Andy Beshear claimed that death toll from the deadly tornadoes, which hit the state overnight on Friday, had exceeded 80 and might rise all the way to 100.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear has stated that according to the latest information, 64 people died as a result of tornadoes hitting the state over the weekend. Another 105 remain unaccounted for, according to Beshear.

"There will be more. We believe it will certainly be above 70, maybe even 80. It may be weeks before we have counts on both deaths and levels of destruction", Beshear said.

Initially, the Kentucky governor projected that the death toll may exceed 100 people. He later said on 12 December that the fatalities had already exceeded 80 people and suggested that there was increasingly little hope of rescuing 110 workers trapped under the remains of the destroyed candle factory.

The factory owner, however, said that all employees except for eight missing had been located. Eight workers were confirmed dead. Beshear commented on the news, saying that he "feared much, much worse" and expressed hope that the numbers were accurate.

The US is still counting the fatalities and damages after several tornadoes ripped through five states. Some 14 people were confirmed dead in four states, in addition to the 64 in Kentucky. The state’s governor lamented that some communities were wiped out, leaving even no doors to knock on in order to check up on everyone and determine who was missing.

President Joe Biden declared a major disaster in Kentucky on 12 December, thus enabling broader federal assistance to the tornado-ravaged state. POTUS argued that the catastrophe last weekend might be "one of the largest" storm outbreaks in the country's history.