As of Monday morning, Governor Andy Beshear confirmed 64 deaths attributable to Friday’s deadly tornado outbreak in Kentucky — which spawned four tornadoes that ripped across the Commonwealth and caused unprecedented damage and loss of life.
In a breakdown of those deaths, 20 are in Graves County, 13 in Hopkins County, 12 in Warren County, 11 in Muhlenberg County, four in Caldwell County, 1 in Marshall County, 1 in Taylor County, 1 in Fulton County and 1 in Lyon County.
While the governor was speaking, the Paducah office of the National Weather Service confirmed a second death in Marshall County and the Cambridge Shores area — bringing the official death toll to 65.
Of the 65 dead, Beshear said 18 remain unidentified. He’s asking family members seeking lost loved ones to help with the recovery efforts by providing confirming details — which in some instances could include DNA matching in some situations.
At the Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory, Beshear noted the company has reported that 94 of 110 workers are alive and accounted for — which would be a much more positive outlook than originally feared early Saturday morning. Eight have been reported dead at the site, and eight have been reported missing.
Beshear added organizations are working diligently to confirm these details, and he’s praying they’re accurate and correct.
A federal major declaration of emergency came from the office of President Joe Biden late Sunday night, and involves the counties of Caldwell, Fulton, Graves, Hopkins, Marshall, Muhlenberg, Taylor and Warren. That’s just the beginning, and it means that federal assistance through FEMA is immediately available for renters, homeowners and business owners at disasterassistance.gov.
Beshear fears and expects the death toll to rise, though hopefully not as sharply as originally expected immediately following Friday’s outbreak.
More than 300 Kentucky National Guardsmen and Guardswomen are on the ground assisting with search and rescue in these counties, while FEMA has already deployed urban search and rescue units to begin the scouring for those missing or perhaps still trapped.
Cell phone service is slowly, but surely, returning as well — with Beshear stating that Verizon has already brought mobile stations to places like Mayfield and Dawson Springs, which were among the hardest hit communities.
State parks in west Kentucky are open for families in distress, with two weeks at minimum guaranteed for relief stay. Pennyrile Forest State Park is full with more than 100 displaced individuals and families, Beshear said, while Lake Barkley State Resort Park, Kentucky Dam Village and Kenlake State Resort Park are accepting families.
Thousands of homes have been damaged or destroyed, and 18 counties suffered damage in the storms.
Beshear said it could be weeks before an accurate death toll could be fully confirmed.
