Death toll may rise to 100 after 30 tornadoes rip through 6 US states

WASHINGTON: The death toll in the US may rise to 100 after the devastating outbreak of 30 tornadoes ripped through six US states on Saturday, namely Arkansas, Mississippi, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee and Missouri.

A candle factory in Kentucky has been completely destroyed, citing local media reported Xinhua.

"There were about 110 people in it (candle factory) at the time that the tornado hit it," Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said.
"We believe our death toll from this event will exceed 50 Kentuckians and probably end up 70 to 100," added Beshear.

He has declared a state of emergency in the area.

Tornadoes also hit a nursing home in Arkansas and took off the roof of an Amazon warehouse in Illinois, causing certain fatalities. Another nursing home and a fire station in Trumann of Tennessee also caused substantial damage, reported Xinhua.

It was the worst tornado that touched down in north-eastern Arkansas and stayed on the ground for about 223 miles into Kentucky, and most likely the longest reported tornado in history, local media reported.

According to PowerOutage.US, at least 331,549 utility customers in four states were left without power.

Issuing a tornado warning on Friday, the National Weather Service said at least 25 million people were under threat from massive thunderstorm systems.