Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear provided an update on the weekend tornado outbreak that spawned at least 50 tornados across several Midwestern states. An emotional Beshear said the death toll in Kentucky stands at 64 people, adding that the number of deaths will "certainly be above 70, maybe even 80."
"Like the folks in western Kentucky, I'm not doing so well today, and I'm not sure how many of us are," Beshear said at a news conference on Monday (December 13).
Six of those who died were children, including a five-month-old infant. Beshar said that 18 of the victims have yet to be identified and that 105 people are still unaccounted for.
Beshear said the damage was catastrophic and that it could take weeks before officials have a true understanding of the devastation caused by the weekend storms.
"Thousands of homes are damaged if not entirely destroyed. And it may be weeks before we have final counts on both deaths and levels of destruction," Beshear said.
Officials said that 75% of the small town of Dawson Springs in western Kentucky was wiped out by the tornadoes. The city reported 13 fatalities as of Sunday, and officials said that over 100 people are still missing.
"It's the worst thing I've ever seen," Mayor Chris Smiley said, according to CNN. "It's just devastating."
The line of storms left a path of destruction across Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and Tennessee, leaving over 100 people dead.