Several deaths after Tornados in Kentucky and Missouri: NPR

Mighty storms and tornados tore through several states of the middle west and southern states overnight on Friday and left dozens of people dead and flattened buildings.

Andy Beshear, governor of Kentucky, said on Saturday afternoon in a post on X that the number of fatalities of the state had risen to 18 people. He is on site in London, Kentucky, in the southeastern part of the state, and this evening is planning to address press and the public from the city that was destroyed by the storm on the ground.

Kristen Mosley, who lives in London, said her home was spared, but many neighbors were not so happy. “Totally devastated. I mean, torn trees torn, houses torn apart,” she said. “You can't really put it into words how tragic it is.”

In Missouri there are at least seven dead – five in the St. Louis region and two more in a more rural part of the state south of the capital. At a press conference on Saturday morning, the fire brigade chief of St. Louis, Dennis Jenkerson, said over 30 people, and warned that the number could be higher.

One person goes past a large tree that blocks a street after a heavy storm was pulled through St. Louis on Friday.

Jeff Roberson/AP

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Jeff Roberson/AP

The mayor of St. Louis, Cara Spencer, described the devastation as “really enormous” and said that an estimated 5,000 buildings were affected. “The devastation is really heartbreaking,” she added.

Healers are still available for survivors, and the officials ask people to keep out of the affected areas so that the crews can do their work. Officials have announced an outcome lock for Saturday evening from 9:00 p.m. to 6 a.m. due to the power lines and the protection of ownership.

According to the power outage.

This is a developing history and is updated.

Stan Ingold contributed the reporting with a WEKU member station.