at least 17 people were killed in hopkins county. drone footage shows the path of destruction, uprooted trees, cars tossed like toys and demolished buildings, changing the landscape of this community community of 2700 people. >> it just moved everything. >> reporter: there is nothing left at lacy duke's home. >> the house started shaking. we heard stuff hitting. and the next thing we know, it was -- it was just gone, and we were in it. >> they were hidden in here. >> reporter: the dukes found cover in a small storm cellar. what were you thinking at that point? >> that we were going to die. i don't know what else to tell you. i thought we were going to die. >> reporter: as the dukes ss searched for their cat through the rubble, lacy's little sister says she is grateful to be alive. >> people that lost their family, it's really sad because they lost people they knew. >> reporter: i asked the dukes what's next, and they said, well, housing. this shelter is now the shelter of 30 people who lost their homes in dawson springs. over the wee

communities in nearby hopkins county were obliterated including three-quarters of the buildings in theson springs. cbs' lilia luciano shows us the devastation. >> reporter: two-month-old oaklyn koon is among the youngest known victims. her grandmother audrey carmen remembers little oaklyn as precious. >> she was the light of their life. my son was so excited to have his little baby girl. >> reporter: oaklyn's mother posted about their ordeal on facebook, including photos of oaklyn and brothers at the hospital, showing their injuries. >> we'll never know who she'll look like for sure, what she would have done in life, but that's okay. >> reporter: her family sheltered inside a bathroom as the tornado ripped through town. overnight she held her baby's hand saying at least i know who will be watching over you there for me, my dad. god, this doesn't seem real." at least 17 people killed in hopkins county, drone footage shows the path of destruction, uprooted trees, cars tossed like toys and demolished buildings, changing the landscape of this small community of 2,700 people. >> it just mov

that is the youngest death in hopkins county. all 14 of those deaths right here in dawson's springs. it is not just one house that is destroyed here, it is dozens, it is hundreds. when you look around, you see some of the scope here. but really, the images alone, it doesn't do it justice. the damage, it just goes and goes and goes. and now we know that 14 people have died here. their ages ranging from 80 to 2 months old. that 2-month-old little girl, her name was oakland. people look at this damage as we talk to people here, they don't even know where to begin to start over. how do you rebuild when you've lost your driver's license, your credit card. how do you take care of your family if you don't have any access to money. how do you get a hotel room if you don't have any i.d.s or credit cards. but despite all of that. despite the fact that people have lost everything, in this community, they're finding hope by embracing one another. neighbors are trying to look out for each other, lift each other up, do what they can. just for

destruction, that it went from the western county line, all the way to the eastern county line here in hopkins countyver seen. and that really goes well with what we have heard from residents and who survived the direct impact of these storms. many people jumped into their basements, if they had one to save their own lives. it was that kind of desperation that so many people here have described to hus, and they do sy it was over in a flash, but it was a level of intensity, not just to homes toppled over, but simply shredded. this is a scene where it really feels like the epicenter of a massively explosive blast. back to you. >> ed lavandera, thanks. >>> in edwardsville, illinois, crews are cleaning up from an amazon warehouse. at least six people died there when the powerful tornado hurdled into the building. a warning siren did ring out 11 minutes before the storm. the walls collapsed inward and the roof also caved in. >> reporter: here in southwest illinois, you are getting a clearer picture of the devastation that was left behind by the storms on friday night. a look from above, and you can see ho

it went from the western county line all the way to the eastern county line here in hopkins county. ng the residents of this county and this community has ever seen. that really goes well with what we have heard from residents who survived the direct impact of these storms. many people jumped into their basements if they had one to save their own lives. it was that kind of desperation that so many people have described to us. they do say it was over in a flash but that it was a level of intensity not just homes toppled over by the storm but simply shredded. this is a scene where it really feels like the epicenter of a massively explosive blast. back to you. >> thanks very much. >>> elsewhere in kentucky many are surveying the damage. >> reporter: you're in the car and they go upstairs and the roof collapses in on them and that refrigerator that we're looking at in the corner. >> yes. >> when you got to them, what kind of shape were they in? what was their condition? >> they were screaming and crying and mother-in-law's hand was cut here and blood. >> that's a sight to see when you're

here in hopkins county. it's unlike anything the residents of this county and community has ever seen. that really goes well with what we have heard from a residents who survived the direct impact. of the storms. many people who jumped into their basements if they had one. to save their own lives. it was that kind of desperation that so many people here have described to us. they do say it was over in a flash. it was a level of intensity. not just homes toppled over by the storm. but simply shredded. this is a scene where it really feels like the epicenter of the massively explosive blast. >> jeff jennings. a resident there whose house was destroyed. by the tornado. he's also the father of a cnn political commentator scott jennings. who shot this video. jeff joins me on the phone. from princeton, kentucky. thank you for talking with us. i'm so sorry for the loss of your home. >> thank you. i'm glad to be here. >> now, your son, scott, spoke to cnn earlier. and he said he was so shocked when he first pulled up

this community here in hopkins county.ork. there were other tornadoes of this. this is stores. >> a day of cleaning rebuilding and checking on family and friends after a night of destruction, one in particular. got. >> got injured pretty badly. her whole trailer was picked up off the foundation and. she's currently in the hospital. governor beshear declared a state of emergency is sending teams to hard-hit areas and activated the kentucky national guard they will help with cleanup and recovery and search and rescue efforts in hopkins and at least 5 other kentucky counties. one of the concerns that the mayor just shared in particular. >> it is really being able to touch base with a lot of the folks who are out of contact that don't direct communications with governor beshear also said president find the prove their federal emergency declaration request and started that he wants to kentucky tornado relief fund to help tornado victims. >> people who live and work in dawson springs hope the tornado didn't take away for what th

way more people unaccounted for than this. 81 of these are in hopkins county alone, 22 in warren. five in graves. can't be right. there's more people than that that we have to identify and find hopefully safe in graves county. again, because -- we have multiple of our towns in rubble. the numbers are move a little bit. we're going to do the best we can to get you the most accurate information that we can. yesterday we received that major declaration from the federal government, the fastest in our history. we're grateful. we have asked for additional counties to be added both for public assistance, these are roads and government buildings and public infrastructure. the public assistance program as well as individual assistance. people that lost their homes. the extra counties that we have asked for on public assistance include boil breckenridge, bullet, casey, christian, edmondson, grayson, green, harden, hart, hickman, livingston, logan, lion, marion, monroe, ohio, shelby, spencer and todd. those are the same counties that we've asked for the individual assistance as well. that is

the medical examiner here in hopkins county tells us that this storm killed ten people in this area and the neighborhood that we are in is one of the hardest hit in the county. earlier today, the governor of kentucky came here to dawson springs. >> my dad's hometown of dawson springs. population 2,700. they're going to lose a lot of people. one block from my grandparents' house, there's no house standing. there's no house standing and we don't know where all those people are. >> and, pamela, we got here late this afternoon as the sun was starting to set. we're on a hill top overlooking. as far as we can see, this kind of destruction that you see behind me, the magnitude of this storm here and the intensity of it and what it has done to this community has simply left people stunned here tonight. pamela? >> it's the same way here in mayfield, just -- the devastation is as far as the eye can see. ed lavandera, thank you so much. >>> let's go to edwardsville, illinois, that's the site of the partially collapsed amazon warehouse. the governor spoke last hour. what did he have to say? >> repo

even our neighboring county hopkins county was hit hard and they have had several fatalities. thoughts and prayers go out to them. the government's response has been phenomenal. my governor has called me, nearly every state representative made contact with me and were on site yesterdays. i received a call not more than an hour ago from senator mitch mcconnell. i know that long-term they're going to be very helpful. as far as immediate help goes, again, most that has been done by volunteers. there's been a lot of items donated to ensure that people didn't go hungry, to make sure they had necessities. in a community like ours where people are close knit, we're very fortunate because most of the people impacted with the storm that lost their homes could either go to visit with their family or friend. where that may not necessarily occur in some communities, it does occur in this community. it makes me tremendously proud that people are being good samaritans. >> thank you so much. i know you have a lot going on. people watching are sending so many good thoughts and prayers your wa

this community here in hopkins county was one of several across kentucky that was severely damaged by the tornado. i worked madisonville to want and i work. there were other tornadoes of this. this is stores. >> they have cleaning rebuilding and checking on family and friends after a night of destruction, one in particular. got. >> got injured pretty badly. her whole trailer was picked. up off the foundation and. she's currently in the hospital. now spend. >> about 8 hours this morning trying to make sure my cousin piece here. i was ok along with her family governor beshear declared a state of emergency last night. yeah, it's fema is sending teams to hard-hit areas and activated the kentucky national guard. they will help with cleanup and recovery and search and rescue efforts in hopkins and at least 5 other kentucky counties. one of the concerns that the the mayor just shared particular. >> it is really being able to touch base with a lot of the folks who are out of contact that don't direct communications with governor beshear also said president find the prove their federal emergen

>> it's gone >> across kentucky, more destruction from a train derailment in hopkins county t more destroyedses in bowling green and homes ripped off roofs in danville. >> this event is the worst, most devastating, most deadly tornado event in kentucky's history. i believe that by the end of today or tomorrow we will be north of at least 70 lives lost here in kentucky i think we will have lost more than 100 people, and i think it could rise significantly in those numbers. >> kentucky's governor calling for those in his state who can to give blood to help >> we are at ground zero, and i know this community has been hit really hard. it's going to be a tough night for a lot of people across kentucky. >> the scope of what happened only now becoming clear, as many as 36 tornadoes causing destruction across six states. in arkansas, a nursing home with 65 residents completely destroyed at least one resident died >> it just kind of stopped my heart for a second knowing that the place had a lot of residents in it that are not physically able and capable of taking care of themselves >> a deadly twiste

. >> the priority is ensuring that all the citizens of hopkins county and dawson springs are accountedor. >> reporter: so far, there are over 70 confirmed deaths in kentucky. more are missing. >> there are unquestionably more than 100 people that are still unaccounted for. local and multiple search and rescue missions continue. >> reporter: among the dead, 12 children. 2-month-old oakland kuehne is the youngest, her parents making the heartbreaking decision to take her off life support. >> i'm going to miss her crying in the middle of the night, waking me up. i'm going to miss her not wanting to be put down, wanting her daddy and mommy to hold her. >> reporter: hundreds more were injured in the tornados, many of them children. nurses lisa pyle and debbie hammond tree on duty when they came in. >> you can hear their cries, their screams when you're taking care of them. >> i rocked him. that's all i know to do. i'm a mother, so i gravitate toward those babies. >> reporter: their father, charles cooke, telling my colleague elwyn lopez the boys sent out to find help after the storm passed.

at least 17 people killed in hopkins county, drone footage shows the path of destruction, uprooted trees, cars tossed like toys and demolished buildings changing the landscape of this small community of 2,700 people. >> it just moved everything. >> reporter: there's nothing left at lacy duke's home. >> the house started shaking. we heard stuff hitting. the next thing we know, it was just gone and we were in it. >> they were hidden in here. >> reporter: the dukes found cover in a small storm cellular. what were you -- cellar. what were you thinking. >> that we were going to die. >> reporter: as they searched for their cat, lucy's little sister says she's grateful to be alive. >> people who lost their family, it's really sad because they lost people they knew. >> reporter: i asked the dukes what's next, and they said, well, housing. this shelter is now the home of about 30 people who lost their homes over there in dawson springs. over the weekend, governor an ay brbrasher toured the area. president biden is expected to be around there this week. >> o'donnell: many people living in schools

that was in hopkins county. that's on the state's western side while the train damaged several homes. no deaths were reported in that incident that a field that was one of the most devastated areas. residents say they were shocked by the storm's destruction. >> i have ever seen this kind of thing. trees are down. buildings are down, cars are flipped. we all count. >> it's because want to come down re. can i was that out. >> cal. oh, yes, is deploying specialized urban search and rescue resources to kentucky after the latest on the storm conditions in that state and local live to mayfield for an update. that's coming up at 06:20pm tonight right here during kron. 4 news at 6. we'll get the latest. from there in the live reports. also arkansas. at least 2 people have died. 5 people were hurt after a nursing home in northeastern sections of arkansas were struck by a tornado as well last night, more than a dozen residents were trapped inside after being rescued survivors were taken to a nearby church to be reunited w

friend after surviving the recent tornadoes in kentucky after one of the twisters blew through hopkins county. justin sherman said he couldn't find his dog me low. he said normally when he yells for her, she comes. but this time she did. >> he ran out the door monday say when the door arcade popped open popped up and she but they around or so. it made me feel like you get trapped in any other house that long. my mom and dad's house. >> sherman also said that his sister and brother-in-law found below at their home while looking for their belongings. thankfully below is now back home safe and sound with her family. more national news tonight. president joe biden awarding 3 medals of honor today at the white house has tried to of the medals were awarded posthumously. the families of sergeant first class own cash and sergeant first class christopher ceilings, they accepted the medal of honor on there. >> loved ones. we have sergeant cash is the first black soldier to receive the country's highest military honor since the vietnam war. he suffered fatal injuries in iraq while rescuing his fellow so

. >> reporter: at least 17 people died here in hopkins county.here's an urgent search-and- rescue mission for more than 80 people who are still unaccounted for. >> let's get it. let's finish this up today. >> reporter: dave jardon and his volunteer group sheepdog impact assistance hit the ground in dawson springs soon after the tornado struck to provide natural disaster relief. >> we're all veterans. we're all first responders. we've seen bad things. if we find a body, it's going to be a bad day. if they find a body, it could very well be a neighbor, friend, family, loved one-- it would be an excruciatingly bad day. so if we can take that off their plate and-- we'll shoulder that as far as not letting them have to. >> reporter: danny miller, whose small cattle business was devastated, told me he won't quit after all, because he's thinking about the next generation. i asked him, "what would you tell president biden who is going to be around here tomorrow?" and he says, "we need help." norah. >> o'donnell: they do need help. i'm so thinking of the

. >> reporter: at least 17 people died here in hopkins county. there is an urgent search-and-rescue mission for more than 80 people who are still unaccounted for. >> all right. let's break. let's go get it. >> reporter: david jarden and his volunteer group hit the ground in dawson springs soon after the tornado struck to provide natural disaster relief. >> we are all veterans, we're all first responders. we have seen bad things. if we find a body, it's going to be a bad day. if they find a body, it could very well be a neighbor, friend, family, lofbd oloved one. it would be an excruciatingly bad day so if we can take that off their plate and that -- we'll -- we'll shoulder that and as far as not letting them have to. >> reporter: danny miller, whose small cattle business was devastated, told me he won't quit after all because he is thinking about the next generation. i asked him what would you tell president biden who is going to be around here tomorrow? and he says we need help. norah. >> they do need help. i am so thinking of the miller family.

counties, by chance? >> certainly graves. i think we'll see them in hopkins, warren, and then i think we will see several other counties. i will be surprised if we don't lose people in at least five or more counties. marshall, also, some fatalities reported to us. again, this is a widespread weather event and i think that we're especially at day break going to see that number of counties and the number of people grow. allen watts, wkdz radio? all right. we'll move on to wdrb. okay. how about ryan reynolds? all right, jack bremer? >> yes, governor, what's the situation on emergency shelters and flooding, and do you feel like there was enough advanced warning with such a catastrophic storm? >> i do believe that there was advanced warning, but this is a storm the likes of which we have never seen in terms of what this tornado did. there are emergency shelters set up in multiple counties. the high school is being used as a primary shelter as well as an additional place where you can get medical help in graves county, and i know that shelters are being set up in o

we're told that the death toll in hopkins county, which is where dawson springs is, and we're in the that was pulled from the rubble was in this apartment complex you see behind us. many this neighborhood, a number of people who passed away and perished in this storm, but city and county officials here beginning the grim task of trying to clean up the debris and the destruction that was caused by this tornado. it is going to take some time. county officials say it will take several weeks to get the powerfully restored, as you mentioned, wolf. 75% of this down destroyed by this tornado. the mayor said about a third of the people here live below the poverty line. so rebuilding for a lot of these people will be very difficult. that's why there are so many questions tonight about what exactly this neighborhood in dawson springs will look like a year from now. that is the question so many people here are facing, do they rebuild or move on and try to figure out something else. there's a great deal of concern as residents are still grappling with the cleanup process. the mayor here in dawso

i'm fortunate enough that my family, who was there in hopkins county and near mayfield, they got out alive, as far as some of the homes, not so much. carley: i know. i'm so glad to hear that, first of all. but ashley, you look at these images and it's worse than a war zone and the thing that i just keep on thinking is how do you even start to rebuild after something like this sweeps through a town, completely destroys the town. where do you start? how do you start picking up the pieces? and that's why there is federal, local and state resources devoted to this crisis. but my gosh, what a long road ahead for these people. ashley: it's unimage i'mable. that brings me to something else i want to mention. insurance fraud. people you would like to think, everyone is there to help when something like this happens but in situations like this you will see insurance fraud where people try to t get everything they can from you. these people have lost everything. it's something to be aware of. if you know someone who is going through this or if you're watching this and you're going through it r

it was a devastating scene here and this is hopkin's county. we were told that ten people were killed in this county. and this is the worst-hit area of this county. you can imagine that a lot of the deaths occurred in this area -- in this neighborhood that we are in. so many people left homeless tonight, that officials here have opened up some cottages at a nearby state park to help people get through this night. not only do they have all of this to worry about, as you've talked about, the temperatures are extremely cold here in kentucky tonight which makes this an even more miserable situation, as people are simply, as you walk around, dazed, confused and stunned by exactly what they have endured, what many of them have survived. the governor of kentucky was here earlier today. >> my dad's hometown of dawsons springs, population 2,700, they're going to lose a whole lot of people. one block from my grandparents' house, there's no house standing. there's no house standing. we don't know where all those people are. >> reporter: and, pamela, you wa

we know of the 13 people that died here, in hopkins county, many of them were from this very neighborhood that we've been reporting from and many people describe some harrowing accounts of what it was like when the storm hit this very spot. >> we were right down in here, so i couldn't necessarily see the house move but you could feel the wind coming in on top of you. >> reporter: wow and when you walked out -- >> we had to climb out. totally dark. no power. i couldn't see anything. and the whole basement is trashed. >> reporter: so it's like this storm lifted up your entire foundation. >> pushed it over there, yeah, and i was in there thinking why is the wind blowing so hard down here? >> reporter: and local officials are telling us tonight that there are still about a hunt people on the missing list. the hope is these are people that have left the area and still haven't checked in with anyone and so they are hopeful that is not an indication of this many more deaths, that will need to be reported, but they are also telling us that the search and rescue part of this storm is really now co

we are in hopkins county, the town of dawson springs. about 70 miles east of mayfield and this is a community where the medical examiner tells us in this county, ten people were killed. many of those people from this area that we are in. and where the homes look exactly like this. there are cars, mangled and stacked on top of each other. houses not just simply knocked over by the storm, but shredded and splintered. all you see in some cases is the front porches and nothing else left. we saw a family going hand by hand through the debris, trying to find whatever belongings they could find, pictures, clothing, whatever they could muster to find and pull from debris. these heartbreaking scenes have been playing out throughout the day here in this community. earlier today, the governor of kentucky paid a visit. >> my dad's hometown of dawson springs. population 2700. they're going to lose a whole lot of people. one block from my grandparents' house. there's no house standing. there's no house standing and we don't know where all those people

the medical examiner here in this county, hopkins county, tells us that the tornadoes here killed ten people and that in this area, this is the hardest-hit area of the county. overnight, no power for as far as we can see. this is a sea of darkness, all around us. so many people left homeless that the county has set up c cottages at a nearby state park so people with get some shelter here, especially through these very frigid nights that are expected. as we walk around here, we talk to some people who were rushed here to this scene, who were helping people escape from the debris field. they described pulling people out with broken bones. the nearby hospital that has treated people said that they treated nearly 100 people from around this area with traumatic injuries, caused by this storm. and the one thing you're left with, as you watch other people comb lthrough the rubble, right to find whatever belongings they can salvage is really a sense of people stunned and in disbelief of what they have endured here. ed lavendera, cnn, dawson spring's kentucky. >> the mayor of mayfield now says

but yeah, out there in hopkins county, i think there's still 5,000 or so without power.there's -- you can see the images right there. i don't know where you're getting power there. there's several thousand without power there. so it's a struggle to get it back up. and just be amount of damage and the amount of just destruction out there has slowed efforts a little bit, but thankfully it's a clear day, so that's hopefully helping things along. but it's still a huge issue. there's still tens of thousands without power, and that's been the case now for, you know, 36 or so hours almost. >> yeah. and of course, the priority number one here is to find any remaining survivors, and the hope is to find as many remaining survivors as possible beneath that rubble until they can tackle the electric situation. lucas, thank you from the cure your journal, we appreciate you reporting and joining us. we have more on the tornadoes ahead including the news conference from the kentucky governor as soon as it's up and running. we'll bring it to you. i want to turn the politics for a moment.

and we could still lose people to injuries like we did that baby and in hopkins county.n tell how mean this storm was when you look at the devastation. among those killed in these storms, from dawson springs, a 2-month-old named oakland kune was with her family in their trailer home when this storm ripped through and that little girl has died we have confirmed. so much loss here. there's so much resiliency and hope, certainly when the president comes around this part of western kentucky, it's going to give a lot of people a lot more hope for this path forward. guys. >> brynn gingras thank you for the reporting. >>> kentucky's first lady, britney breshear, thank you for being here. the youngest victim 2 months old, the oldest 98. tell us about the conversation, when you talk to people who have lost, as i said, every tangible thing that they have. >> this storm, this tornado, tragedy doesn't begin to describe the absolute obliteration of towns and communities in western kentucky. people are grieving. they are shell shocked. they're looking for pieces of their life in rubbl

then, we've heard of damage all over from bowling green to where we lost a district judge, to hopkins county and dawson springs. princeton. just all over places around western kentucky. i've never seen anything like this. i've seen strong wind damage that i've captured with my drone in the past. nothing like this. i wasn't prepared for it. someone described it as a scene from world war ii. bombing raids that you'd see in old footage and that's exactly what it looks like. there's just nothing left of the place. >> you run out of ways to describe what you're seeing because you don't feel like it's capturing it based on the pictures you've got here. >> just a few years ago, you'd need helicopters to get a view like you've gotten in this aftermath. now citizens have the ability to do this with drones. i presume this can be helpful to some degree in disasters like this. have you coordinated with authorities? >> no question. there are drones equipped with heat vision cameras that are used for this very thing, to detect people, leaks, when various kinds of camera equipment. so it has been and can b

things exploded, completely shattered and the neighborhood we're in right now, 13 people died in hopkins county where dawson springs is located. we have heard from residents that many of the victims from those storms were from this neighborhood that we're standing in here. we know that search and rescue teams pulled a victim out of this apartment complex area behind me, just over here to my right, there were two elderly sisters that lived together that neighbors tell us they died in the home in that storm. many people here have basements, not all, and the ones that we spoke to, line vonda scastle sa it was that basement that saved them and when they emerged from it, they couldn't believe what they were seeing. >> i'm thankful we have my mom and sister a place to stay. there's so many looking for hotels. we would be in that same spot. >> if you hadn't run to the basement, have you thought about -- >> i would be gone. it's terrible. it makes you wonder whether they ever come back, can we come back. we're just a little small town. >> reporter: and so right now, anderson, city officials tell us the

it's really rough region by region, but especially down in the mayfield/hopkins county/dawson springs area. >> you know, a lot of times when there's a bad tornado hit like this, you can counted on some neighboring states to chip in, but this is such a wide swath, i'm curious, how many more resources do you need? do you need more folks to come in, whether it's folks to turn the power on, clear debris? again, the surrounding -- your neighboring states are also dealing with this. do you need the national guard, other states' national guard? >> this is what we believe will be the longest tornado in u.s. history on the ground, consecutively at least 227 miles. 200 of those were in kentucky. i've talked to the governors of neighboring states. we're all working to recover through this. we have a lot of people on the ground right now, especially in mayfield. actually what we need from the surrounding communities is if you're safe and have power, stay home. we need to make sure our roads are open for first responders, for heavy equipment and not having people just coming to see what is human m

the death toll in this county in hopkins county where dawson springs is was ten. we are told now by the medical examiner the death toll is now 12. this is the devastation that so many people are seeing. you might see down there at the bottom of the hill that there's a gentleman walking around. this is his home. he has lived here for 62 years. it kind of sits on a hilltop overlooking the city. a very expansive view. but that view is of all the destruction now. he told us that he is not going to rebuild, that he's simply too old for that. and throughout this neighborhood, the stories of survival are simply stunning, talking to a number of people throughout the day who described the horrific experience of getting into their basements if they had one to survive this storm. listen to one account from a gentleman we met earlier today. >> we were right down in here. so, i couldn't necessarily see the house move, but you could feel the wind coming in on top of you. >> wow. >> and when you walked out of there -- >> we didn't walk out. we had to climb out. it's totally dark

eight from that candle factory, 13 had other locations, 17 in hopkins county, 15 in warren, 11 in mulemberg, four in caldwell, two in marshall. there is a question about 73 versus 74. the emergency management director there reports two in marshall. and one in franklin, fulton, lyon, and taylor counties. eight are unidentified or their name was not yet been released. the age range has gotten even harder. it ranges now from 2 months to 98 years of the kentuckians that we have lost. some didn't get an opportunity to experience this life. twelve of the 74 are children. and there unquestionably more people unaccounted for, but multiple local and federal search i couldn't see continue. utility companies are continuing to repair the outages. three water systems have limited operation work is being done to remove debris and replace the traffic signals. i tell you what, it feels pretty good to not just be pushing this stuff out of the way but to be loading it up and taking it out of town. there's something therapeutic about taking chaos and destruction and death and getting it out of some of those a

reporter: laura, two days after the tornadoes ripped through this part of western kentucky, here in hopkins countyations have continued. another victim was pulled from the rubble on sunday. the death toll here continues to go up. and emergency officials are still trying to locate all of the people listed on the missing person's list. their hope right now is that a lot of that is problems with communication and that perhaps these aren't necessarily victims but people haven't been able to locate their whereabouts just yet. so they continue to do all of that work. that's why they remain in a search and rescue operation throughout this area. emergency management officials tell us that two thirds of the city of nearly 3,000 people was decimated by the tornadoes. everywhere you look in those areas it is a field of debris. very rarely do you see structures that just seem to have toppled over. it really feels like it's the epicenter of an explosion site. it is just simply stunning what people are having to go through. they have literally been going through all of these shreds of debris looking for whateve

we're over ten and growing in hopkins county. we have significant loss here.e're over ten in mule muhlenberg in a town 100-some people. i think we're at three to five in caldwell. those numbers are going to continue to grow as we're able to go house to house and home to home. >> governor, we're from here, but to see the attention that the state has gotten on the global scale, what do you hope people take away from seeing kentucky and the resiliency of our people? >> first, we are grateful for the outpouring of support, attention, of prayers from this country and from the world. it's all we could ask for, and it's just pure love. one country united worried about us. what a hope they see is that we also love one another. we are good people that care about one another. we open our homes, we open our businesses. as people get power on, they're reaching out to everybody else to invite them in. the number of emergency responders are just volunteers. my dad's from dawson springs, not far from madisonville, and the number of volunteers when i was there yesterday from

in this county alone, hopkins county, the coroner tells me they have had 13 people die, all of them hereings. this is a community of only about 2,700 people. the woman who lives in this house has lived here with her husband for 31 years. she was not in this house when the storm came through. she was across the street in her neighbor's basement when they started to hear the storm, the tornado, everything coming through. you can see the devastation on this street alone. but if we go across the street to the house where she was hiding, you can see that all that's left is a stairwell leading to the basement. she told me that she heard all of the noise, felt things moving around her. when she looked up from the basement where a kitchen should have been, all she saw was complete darkness. her name is anita black. again, she's lived here with her husband for some 31 years. never experienced anything like this. listen to what she told me. >> we got there just before it hit and it was over in seconds. it was the most incredible thing i've ever been through. and we just -- we are blessed, god prot

they have rescued over 20 cats, just the hopkins county animal control alone, and some 18 dogs. they are still going, and it was a little bit of really great news amidst all of the rubble. not only did they find that dog but we're told it is doing really well, it's eaten, it was getting treats, it's doing wonderful. >> that's really great to hear. one of our producers pulled a cat from the rubble and that cat is at the vet and doing well. >> reporter: he ate this morning for the first time. >> ellison, thanks so much for bringing us a little bit of good news. >>> a court tells former president trump to give congress his taxes. >>> and cornell university shuts down its ithaca campus online after a rapid surge in covid cases that could be tied to the omicron variant. >>> and a recent string of smash and grabs has highlighted the growing problem of organized retail crime. nbc's new reporting on an undercover team tasked with stopping it. as a professional bull-rider i'm used to taking chances. but when it comes to my insurance i don't. i use liberty mutual, they customize your car

we're over ten and growing in hopkins county. we have significant loss here. we're over ten in muehlenberg in a town 100 and something people. i think we're at 3 to 5 in caldwell and so those numbers are going to continue to grow as we're able to go house to house and home to home. >> governor, you and i -- to see this get the attention the state has gotten on a global scale from this. what do you hope people think about seeing kentucky in the news and the resiliency of -- >> first, we're grateful for the outpouring of support, of attention, of prayers from this country and from the world. it's all we could ask for, and it's just pure love. one country united worried about us. what i hope they see is that we also love one another. we are good people that care about one another. we open our homes. we open our businesses. as people get power on, they're reaching out to everybody else to invite them in. the number of emergency responders or just volunteers. my dad is from dawson springs, not far from madisonville. the number of volunteers when i was there yesterd

by county, it is way more, weigh more people and accounted for than this. 81 of these are in hopkins countyat that we have got to identify and find —— in graves. hopefully find them safe in graves county was that the hopefully find them safe in graves county was tha— county was that the devastation is truly incredible. _ so what causes a tornado? bbc meteorologist ben rich explains for us. warm, moist air from the gulf of mexico _ warm, moist air from the gulf of mexico clashes with cold air digging down from the north, and that spawns ijil, down from the north, and that spawns big, violent _ down from the north, and that spawns big, violent thunderstorms, called super— big, violent thunderstorms, called super cells. given the right wind conditions. _ super cells. given the right wind conditions, the air inside these vicious — conditions, the air inside these vicious storms can start to spin, and if— vicious storms can start to spin, and if that— vicious storms can start to spin, and if that swirling air gets right to the _ and if that swirling air gets right to the ground and touches down,

i spoke to the coroner of this county, hopkins county, and he said that 13 people lost their lives heree, and he says that, yes, they are worried that that number may go even higher, because so many people in this apartment complex are still missing. i spoke to one woman who described riding out the storm, looking up after being in her neighbor's basement, and just seeing nothing but complete and total darkness. she then ran across the street looking for her other neighbors. she and others, they started pulling people out of their basements, literally neighbors saving each other's lives in this neighborhood, at least three people lost their lives, and again, nicole, in this apartment complex, a number of people are still unaccounted for. i mean, we met one man yesterday who had a list of seven people he was trying to find, all of them had lived in this area. nicole? >> nbc's ellison barber, thank you so much. it's just a heartbreaking, heartbreaking tragedy. thank you so much for your reporting. >>> the next hour of "deadline white house" starts after a quick break. don't go anywhere. s

weather will continue this weekend as the storm system moves east and, guys, i'm actually from hopkins countyich is a county in western kentucky that was hit especially hard. i have got calls in to my grandparents and my aunts and uncles right now. so it's close to home. will: our thoughts and prayers are with you. with all your coverage this morning, you bring a great perspective to this having known exactly what's taken place. we are praying for your family this morning. let's churn to chief meteorologist rick reichmuth for more. rick: this one tornado what we saw has caused most of the damage large track tornado for on the ground for 200 miles. they goal out and do that investigation to see if it was on the ground that long. but it would be talking about maybe one of the longest tornado tracks we have ever seen in this country, at least on record. now, that was overnight when the storms happen overnight they are especially deadly. people aren't aware. they don't have as much kind of warning in these. you can't get any visual cue that you have a tornado going. in december people may not be

county. work directly with groups to get cell service back in hopkins, marshall, and i think it's up and goingn hickman. to recap, we declared a state of emergency roughly midnight -- before midnight before the storm really hit. we received immediate federal emergency declaration i believe on sunday, which is the fastest we've ever seen and last night we received a federal declaration of major emergency. i think the fastest that has ever been issued and we are really grateful. fema is here and will give us an update on what that means. but it is really good news for our families. it means fema will be on the ground documenting losses at people's homes, helping them go ahead and file their claims. again, i believe this is the most rapid response by the federal government in the history of the united states of america and we need it. and we are really grateful for it. and then michael will go over a few other things here in a minute. new pieces out today, and i have a lot of pieces of paper here that i will work through them the best i can. i'm ordering flags to half staff in honor of those lost

counties, by chance? >> well, certainly, graves, i think we're going to see them in hopkins, warren, and then i think we will see several other counties, i will be surprised if we don't lose people in at least five or more counties, marshall also some fatalities reported to us. again, this is a widespread weather event. and i think that we're especially at daybreak going to see that number of counties and the number of people grow. alan watts, wkdz radio. all right. we'll move on to wdrb. okay. how about ryan reynolds. all right. jack bramer. >> governor, what's the situation on emergency shelters and flooding? and do you feel like there was advance warning of such a catastrophic storm? >> id do believe thats there wa advanced warning, but this is a storm the likes of which we have never seen in terms what this tornado did. there are emergency shelters set up in multiple counties. the high school is being used as a primary shelter as well as an additional place where you can get medical help in graves county. and i know that shelters are being is set up in other counties. of course, we are really good people

counties. i know mulenburg. i know hopkins. here. certainly graves. we believe in marshall. it's tough. but also your folks have done incredible work. on top of it since the very beginning and i'm real proud of the response here in warren county. >> thank you for taking a knee at this moment. we're in an emergency state and we appreciate what the governor and the president has already declared for us. our community wants to help. the best way is just like the governor stated, but there's another way. i talked to our local red cross. they are set up right now at south warren high school. many, many people have already given in kind donations to the red cross at south central high school. what they've told me is they appreciate it, but they've asked to hold off on in kind donations. what we need now is because that is a place where our personnel, our people, are going for shelter tonight. they already have about 15 personnel that are there this evening. we know more are coming and so they need to focus their energy towards taking care of those that need immediate shelter. so if you need im

county. we're working directly with groups to get cell service back in hopkins, marshall, and i think that it is up and going in fulton county as well working on hickman. so recap, we declared state of emergency roughly midnight, before midnight, before the storm really hit. we received immediate federal emergency declaration i believe on sunday which is the fastest we've ever seen. and last night we received a federal declaration of major emergency i think the fastest that has ever been issued. and we are really grateful from fema. they will give us an update on what that means. but it is good news for our families, it means that fema will be on the ground documenting losses at people's homes, helping them go ahead and file their claims. again, i believe that this is the most rapid response by the federal government in the h history of the united states and we are grateful for it. and then michael dosset will go over a few other things here in a minute. new pieces out today, and i have a lot of pieces of paper here are i'll work through them the best i can, is i'm ordering flags to half-staf

counties. i know mulenberg, i know hopkins, here, certainly graves. we believe in marshall. it's tough. but also, your folks have done incredible work on top of it since the very beginning. and i'm really proud of the response here in moore county. >> thank you, governor. bowling green citizens, we're taking a knee at this moment. we're in an emergency state and we appreciate what the governor and what the president has already declared for us. our community wants to help. and the best way to help is just like the governor stated, but there's another way. i talked to our local red cross, and they are set up right now at south warren high school. many, many people have already given in-kind donations to the red cross at south central high school. what they've told me is they appreciate it, but they've asked to hold off on in-kind donations. what we need right now is because that is a place where our personnel, our people are going for shelter tonight, they already have about 15 personnel that are there this evening. we know that more are coming. and so, they need to focus their energy tow

county, from my conversation with the judge this morning. work directly with groups to get cell service back in hopkins, marshall, and i think it's up and going in fulton county, as well, working on hickman. to recap, we have declared a state of emergency, roughly midnight, before midnight, before the storm really hit. we received immediate federal emergency declaration, i believe, on sunday, which is the fastest we've ever seen, and last night, we received a federal declaration of major emergency, i think, the fastest that has ever been issued. and we are really grateful, from fema, they are going to give us an update on what that means. but it's really good news for our families. it means fema is going to be on the ground, documenting losses at people's homes, helping them go ahead and file their claims. again, i believe this is the most rapid response by the federal government in the history of the united states of america. and we need it. and we are really grateful for it. and then, michael dossett will go over a few other things here in a minute. new pieces out today, and i have a lot of pieces of paper here, i'm going to work through th