Powerful tornadoes kill dozens across six US states

Rescuers were desperately searching for survivors early on Dec. 12 after dozens of devastating tornadoes tore through six U.S. states, leaving at least 83 people dead, dozens missing and towns in ruin.

President Joe Biden called the wave of tornadoes, including one that travelled more than 200 miles, "one of the largest" storm outbreaks in American history.

"It's a tragedy," a shaken Biden, who pledged support for the affected states, said in televised comments. "And we still don't know how many lives are lost and the full extent of the damage."

Scores of search and rescue officials were helping stunned citizens across the U.S. heartland sift through the rubble of their homes and businesses overnight.

More than 70 people are believed to have been killed in Kentucky alone, many of them workers at a candle factory, while at least six died in an Amazon warehouse in Illinois where they were on the night shift processing orders ahead of Christmas.

"This event is the worst, most devastating, most deadly tornado event in Kentucky's history," said state governor Andy Beshear, adding he fears "we will have lost more than 100 people."

"The devastation is unlike anything I have seen in my life, and I have trouble putting it into words," he told reporters.
Beshear has declared a state of emergency.

The tornado that smashed through Kentucky had rumbled along the ground for over 200 miles (320 kilometers), Beshear said, one of the longest on record.

The longest a U.S. tornado has ever tracked along the ground was a 219-mile storm in Missouri in 1925. It claimed 695 lives.

The western Kentucky town of Mayfield was reduced to "matchsticks," its mayor Kathy O'Nan told CNN.

The small town of 10,000...

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