Kentuckians as young as 2 months and as old as 98 were among the dead in the devastating tornadoes that ripped through the state over the weekend and leveled communities.
Gov. Andy Beshear said the "good news" was that the death toll did not increase Tuesday, standing at 74 people killed in the storms, including 12 children.
But he does expect it to rise in the coming days with over 100 still missing. Across five states, at least 88 were killed as a series of tornadoes tore a path of destruction from Arkansas to Illinois.
Officials and rescue workers continued to work through the rubble Tuesday to get a clearer picture of how widespread the damage was from the unprecedent storms.
Beshear said the extreme weather will "probably be one of the most devastating tornado events in U.S. history."
At the Mayfield candle factory where the tornado tore apart the building, Beshear said rescuer workers' cadaver dogs surveyed the rubble and did not find any additional bodies. Eight people were killed at the factory, and Beshear said it was a "miracle' no additional deaths have been reported. He said the state was working with the company to verify that no more deaths occurred.
The state Occupational Safety and Health Administration would investigate the deaths as it does with any death in a workplace, Beshear added. "It shouldn't suggest that there was any wrongdoing, but what it should give people confidence in is that we'll get to the bottom of what happened," he said
Meanwhile, more than 550 National Guard members were mobilized in Kentucky, with almost 80 searching for the presumed dead, Beshear said. State parks were also opening up to house displaced residents.
'We can expect more':Did climate change play a role in the deadly weekend tornadoes?
More than 1,000 properties were destroyed, Beshear said Monday, and more than 20,000 people remain without power in Kentucky, according to the online tracker Poweroutage.us.
The electric grid in Mayfield, however, was totally wiped out and that it would take weeks to months to rebuild, said Kentucky Emergency Management Director Michael Dossett on Tuesday. Officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency were on the ground already and efforts to tarp damaged houses that can be repaired have also begun, Dossett said.
At least 30 tornadoes from Friday to Saturday struck Kentucky, Illinois, Tennessee, Missouri and Arkansas. One of the twisters that hit Kentucky is believed to have traveled 200 miles or more, possibly challenging the national record of 219 set in 1925.
Meanwhile on Wednesday, President Joe Biden plans to tour the damage after signing a disaster declaration for Kentucky.
Here's what we know:
Tornado could be costliest in US history
AccuWeather said that the total damages and economic losses from the tornado outbreak could amount to $18 billion, which would make it the costliest tornado outbreak in U.S. history.
The United States has endured deadly and landscape-altering tornado outbreaks in its history. In 1925, the "Tri-State Tornado" killed hundreds of people, while in 1974 and in 2011, super outbreaks spawned hundreds of twisters that killed several hundred people and resulted in billions of dollars of damage.
However, according to AccuWeather, no outbreak has ever caused as much economic impact as this year's December tornado event.
Beshear said state officials were still doing their own assessment of the economic impact.
– Doyle Rice, USA TODAY
Was the tornado that hit Mayfield an EF5? Here's how the National Weather Service decides
Kentucky Gov. Beshear lost 2 relatives in tornadoes
Beshear said Tuesday that two cousins of his uncle died in the storm. The uncle was married to his dad's sister, who died earlier this year, Beshear said. "It doesn't seem right how life can hit some people in certain years," he added.
Beshear said his uncle would tour the damage with him in Muhlenberg County on Tuesday.
Who are the victims of the tornadoes?
As search and rescue efforts continue, officials are beginning to share the names of those killed in the storms.
In Graves County, 3-year-old Jha'lil Lee Dunbar was among the youngest victims. A relative confirmed the child's death to the Louisville Courier Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network.
Robert Daniel, a police deputy, died while supervising inmates on work release at the Mayfield candle factory, according to a social media post from Graves County Jailer George Workman. Devyn Cunningham, 21, and Jill Monroe, 52, both died while working at the candle factory as well, according to social media posts.
Jenny Bruce, 65, a former administrator and member of the Dawson Springs Independent School board, was among the dead in Hopkins County, according to the coroner.
Brian Crick, 43, a district court judge for Muhlenberg and McLean counties, also died in the storms. Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice John Minton confirmed over the weekend. Read more here.
– Olivia Krauth, Louisville Courier Journal
How to help Kentucky tornado victims:Donate to relief funds, Red Cross and food distribution
74 elderly residents survive Mayfield nursing home annihilation
At one nursing home in Western Kentucky, all 74 residents survived despite the tornado tearing through much of the town, said Sarah Stewart, ClearView Healthcare Management Regional Director of Operations.
"When you see the devastation of the building, to have kept that many people alive was truly a miracle," Stewart said Monday. "These are vulnerable, elderly people who cannot run. The staff risked their lives to protect them. It's the best outcome."
Mayfield's four-wing, one-story nursing facility suffered catastrophic damage and was declared a total loss by insurance agents Monday.
Before the twister touched down in Mayfield, Stewart said staffers recently moved eight residents out of one of the four wings so construction could take place. The night of the tornado, that wing was leveled.
"It's hard to say there wasn't some divine intervention there," Stewart said.
– Natalie Neysa Alund, Louisville Courier Journal
Did climate change play a role in the deadly weekend tornadoes?
The devastating tornado outbreak may be the harbinger of future tragedies as the planet warms, some scientists say.
Spring-like temperatures across much of the Midwest and South last week helped bring the warm, moist air that formed the thunderstorms that spawned the tornadoes. The warmth was at record-breaking levels, meteorologists said, including in Memphis, Tennessee, which soared to a record high of 80 degrees on Friday, the National Weather Service said.
"The latest science indicates that we can expect more of these huge (tornado) outbreaks because of human-caused climate change," Penn State meteorologist Michael Mann told USA TODAY.
While some of this is due to La Niña – a natural climate pattern that usually brings warmer-than-normal winter temperatures across the southern U.S. – scientists also expect atypical, warm weather in the winter to become more common due to climate change.
– Doyle Rice, USA TODAY
Map: Path of destruction from historic tornadoes
A combination of the main tornado’s enormous path as it tore from Arkansas to Kentucky, its sheer power and the high number of smaller whirlwinds that accompanied it made for an overwhelming force that left devastated communities in its wake.
The tornado’s path extended for about 223 miles, four more than the record of 219 set by the so-called tri-state tornado on March 18, 1925, which ripped through parts of Missouri, Illinois and Indiana.
Facebook group helps tornado victims find belongings
As the tornadoes tore through Western Kentucky, residents' belongings were carried as far as Louisville, Southern Indiana and Ohio. Now, a Facebook group named Quad State Tornado Found Items has attracted more than 55,000 members to search for missing possessions and share what's been found.
Jessica Thacker Noffsinger said she was lucky her family's home in rural Bremen, Kentucky, remained standing. But a small outbuilding where the family had been storing some photos and documents was carried off in the storm.
Three pictures have since been found by strangers in Crestwood, Kentucky; Mauckport, Indiana; and Laconia, Indiana — all more than 100 miles away.
– Bailey Loosemore, Louisville Courier Journal
OSHA investigates Amazon site in Illinois where six workers died
The Amazon warehouse in Illinois where six workers were killed after a tornado strike Friday is under investigation by the federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration.
Agency spokesperson Scott Allen said OSHA inspectors have been at the Edwardsville site since Saturday and will determine whether workplace safety rules were followed. Two sides of the warehouse collapsed and its roof caved in after the tornado hit Friday night.
National civil rights attorney Ben Crump said in a statement Tuesday he was representing the family of one of the victims at the warehouse, DeAndre Morrow, 28. "The family members we represent are deeply distraught and want answers to their questions," Crump said.
– Jorge L. Ortiz, USA TODAY
Contributing: Sarah Ladd, Mary Ramsey and Billy Kobin, Louisville Courier Journal; John Bacon, USA TODAY; The Associated Press
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