“Things that have been here longer than I have, things that have been here for 30-plus years are just flat,” Burns told AFP in a phone interview, her voice quavering.
“It’s wild, because you’ll look at one area and it’s just smashed ... totally flattened, like, not there anymore.”
Drone footage published by local media showed scenes of devastation in London, with houses levelled and reduced to splinters and tree trunks standing bare, completely shorn of branches.
Beshear added that more than 100,000 people have been left without power in the state, and five counties have declared a state of emergency.
Eastern Kentucky, an area historically known for its coal mines, is one of the poorest regions in the country.
“A lot of us live in manufactured homes that aren’t safe for tornado weather,” Burns said.
In Missouri, five people were killed in the major city of St Louis, in what authorities said was one of the worst storms in its history, and two in Scott County, the State Highway Patrol said in a statement to AFP.
More than 80,000 people were left without power and three shelters were opened in the area, the statement added. More severe weather was forecast for Sunday night and Monday.
Asked by a reporter today whether it was the worst storm ever to hit St Louis, Mayor Cara Spencer replied: “I would describe this as one of the worst storms – absolutely. The devastation is truly heartbreaking.”
She said 38 people in the city were injured and some 5000 buildings damaged.
In one St Louis neighbourhood, a church was heavily damaged, according to CBS News footage, and rescue workers continued to treat victims near the building.
“It’s horrific for a tornado to come through here and cause this much damage to the residents and also to the church,” Derrick Perkins, a pastor at the Centennial Christian Church, told CBS News. “Our hearts are broken.”
Bruce Madison, who also works at the church, said the community was coming together in the face of the tragedy.
“Right now, we’re just praying for ... everybody that they’re trying to find right now.”
While there were warnings before the severe weather – Beshear had protectively declared a state of emergency yesterday – the death toll may raise questions about whether sharp cuts by the Trump administration have left National Weather Service (NWS) forecasting teams dangerously understaffed.
An estimated 500 of the 4200 NWS employees have been fired or taken early retirement this year, according to the Washington Post.
The United States saw the second-highest number of tornadoes on record last year with nearly 1800, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), trailing only 2004.
– Agence France-Presse
