Tornadoes, storms cause havoc in US, roof collapse

The Amazon distribution centre partially collapsed after being hit by a tornado on Friday in Edwardsville. Pic/AP

Tornadoes and severe weather were blamed for several deaths and injuries across parts of the Midwest and the South as a storm system caused significant damage at a candle factory in Kentucky, an Amazon facility in Illinois, a nursing home in Arkansas, and numerous homes and buildings. Many people were feared dead at the factory in Mayfield, Kentucky, where Gov. Andy Beshear called the situation "tragic" at a news conference on Saturday morning.

"There were about 110 people in it at the time that the tornado hit it," Beshear said. "We believe we'll lose at least dozens of those individuals. It's very hard, really tough, and we're praying for each and every one of those families." At least 100 emergency vehicles descended upon the Amazon warehouse near Edwardsville, Illinois, about 25 miles (40 kilometres) east of St Louis, where a wall that was about the length of a football field collapsed, as did the roof above it.

Edwardsville Police Chief Mike Fillback said several people who were in the building were taken by bus to the police station in nearby Pontoon Beach for evaluation. Fillback said the process would last for several more hours. Cranes and backhoes were brought in to help move debris and rescue people from the factory.

Three storm-related deaths were confirmed in Tennessee, said Dean Flener, spokesman for the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency. Two of the deaths occurred in Lake County, and the third was in Obion County - both in the northwestern corner of the state. A tornado struck the Monette Manor nursing home in Arkansas on Friday night, killing one person and trapping around 20 people inside as the building collapsed, Craighead County Judge Marvin Day said. Five people had serious injuries, and a few others had minor ones, he said.

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