Nearly two dozen people died after a destructive tornado outbreak swept through Kentucky Friday night.
“Kentucky, we’re starting today with the tough news that we lost at least 14 of our people to last night’s storms, but sadly, this number is expected to grow as we receive more information. Please pray for all of our affected families,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said.
Kentucky, we’re starting today with the tough news that we lost at least 14 of our people to last night’s storms, but sadly, this number is expected to grow as we receive more information. Please pray for all of our affected families.
— Governor Andy Beshear (@GovAndyBeshear) May 17, 2025
Other reports said over 20 people died due to the violent storms.
Per NPR:
Powerful storms and tornadoes tore through several Midwestern and Southern states overnight Friday, leaving carnage and flattened buildings in their wake.
In Kentucky at least 24 people have died. Authorities say 23 of those deaths occurred in London, Ky., in the southeastern part of the state, with some people still unaccounted for.
ADVERTISEMENTA message shortly after 8 a.m. ET from Gov. Andy Beshear called for prayers for the affected families. But less than an hour later, the number of known deaths had already risen by 10.
In Missouri, there are at least seven dead — five in the St. Louis area and two others in a more rural part of the state, south of the capital.
Video footage captured some of the destruction:
Oh My… Here’s the long tracked Eastern Kentucky tornado that went through South of Somerset & London at its peaked width & strength! 😨 🙏 #kywx #wxtwitter
— Thee 🌪ornadorologist (@tornadorology) May 17, 2025
HUGE tornado in Somerset Ky pic.twitter.com/rAxB38IwCo
— Logan Paugh (@CoachPaugh) May 17, 2025
NEW VIDEO:
London, KY as the sun rises this morning – just a wasteland of rubble after a tornado roared through the Southeastern Kentucky community.#KYwx pic.twitter.com/7yz4OgfImQ— WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) May 17, 2025
FOX Weather reports:
Video from London shows extensive damage with multiple homes destroyed and vehicles barely recognizable as debris littered the neighborhood and lightning still flashed in the background.
“(My daughter) got scared, so we went to the hallway,” a woman named Leslie, who survived the storm with her family, told emergency officials in the video. “And we were in there about two minutes and then my husband came running in and pretty much jumped on top of her because you could feel the air sucking in, and it sounded like a train. And then we saw stuff falling, and next thing you knew, most of the house was gone.”
Rescue crews were also combing through tornado damage in Somerset, where at least one person died.
Somerset mayor Alan Keck declared a state of emergency in his city as “damage is extensive and loss of life occurred, the extent of which is not fully reported as of this (declaration).”
“It was a really scary night,” Keck told FOX Weather Saturday morning. “This really hit our business community, (the tornado) went right through our commercial corridor. It was a tough night.”
While at least one person died in the storms in his city, Keck said the tornado spared hundreds of homes.
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