MAYFIELD, Ky. — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is warning the state’s death toll from an outbreak of tornadoes could top 100.
"On the death count, we know that we're going to have at least four counties that are in double digits," Beshear said Sunday afternoon.
The agonizing wait for answers continues at a Kentucky candle factory where searchers are picking through the ruins after a tornado struck.
"If they would let me down there, I would be digging right now – until daybreak," said a woman whose loved one likely died at the factory. "I would be digging right now, if I could – fingers and all, I would be digging."
Beshear said 110 people were working inside at the time of the storms, and about 40 were rescued. Beshear added that will be a miracle if anyone else is rescued.
More than $2 million has been donated to the Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund, Beshear said. The governor said the fund is managed by the state, and all the money will go to support the victims and their families.
Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said Sunday that FEMA is helping deliver food, water and shelter to those affected by the tornadoes.
Kentucky was the worst-hit state by an unusual mid-December swarm of twisters across the Midwest and the South that leveled entire communities and left at least 14 people dead in four other states.