At least 84 people have tragically died following a series of tornadoes on Friday night, the governor of the US state of Kentucky has confirmed.
As reported by BBC News, Governor Andy Beshear stated that the number could go up in what he has referred to as the most severe set of tornadoes in Kentucky history.
The death toll from the extreme weather could ultimately exceed 100 people, Beshear said during a press conference on Saturday morning.
"This is going to be some of the worst tornado damage that we've seen in a long time," Beshear said. "This is likely to be the most severe tornado outbreak in our state's history."
The disaster has so far seen at least 30 deadly tornadoes sweep through the Mississippi Valley.
President Joe Biden promised to get federal help to the areas affected as soon as possible after declaring an emergency and ordering assistance for the Kentucky town ravaged by the tornado.
"All that I know is that the intensity of the weather across the board has some impact as a consequence of the warming of the planet and the climate change," he said.
"The specific impact on these specific storms, I can't say at this point. I'm going to be asking the EPA and others to take a look," Biden added.
What's more, Biden promised that he would visit Kentucky but at a point where he and his team wouldn't be "in the way".
Beshear said at a briefing midday on Saturday the death toll was now "north of 70" and that "it may in fact end up exceeding 100 before the day is done."
At least 84 people were reported dead by Saturday evening. In addition to the 70 in Kentucky, six more are dead in Illinois, four in Tennessee, and two each in Arkansas and Missouri.
As of Saturday night, over 200,000 people across the region remained without power in their homes. 137,599 outages were reported in Tennessee and 71,982 customers experienced outages in Kentucky.
"This will be, I believe, the deadliest tornado system to ever run through Kentucky," Beshear added. "It is indescribable. The level of devastation is unlike anything I have ever seen."
The early casualty estimates suggest that the tragedy is the deadliest tornado strike in Kentucky in more than a century, on a scale last seen in 1890 when twisters killed 76 in the Louisville area.
Authorities said the tornado caused "significant damage" across the western parts of Kentucky. A train was derailed as a result of extreme winds in Hopkins County, Sheriff Matt Sanderson reported.
