A swarm of deadly tornadoes hit Kentucky this previous Friday, and the situation got out of hand for the residents living in the state. Following the disastrous day, President Joe Biden declared the Kentucky tornadoes a major disaster in order to send timely aid and rescue where required.
Previously, the admin declared the expected Kentucky tornadoes as national emergency in order to make sure help can be sent before things get out of control. Kentucky state governor Andy Beshear said the natural disaster on Friday was the deadliest and most destructive in the state’s history. More than 100 people were feared dead initially, where now officials are hopeful for a lower death toll.
After the initial fear of more than hundreds dead due to the Kentucky tornadoes, Beshear released another statement by the end of the day saying, “We are praying that maybe original estimates of those we have lost were wrong. If so, it’s going to be pretty wonderful.”
President Biden approved the federal aid on Sunday after governor Andy Beshear requested it early on December 12th. White House statement read, “President Biden declared that a major disaster exists in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and ordered Federal aid to supplement Commonwealth and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe storms, straight-line winds, flooding, and tornadoes beginning on December 10, 2021, and continuing.”
A candle factory by Mayfield Consumer Products that was hit devastatingly by the Kentucky tornadoes confirmed eight dead within its premises, with eight others missing. A spokesperson for the company, Bob Ferguson said, “There were some early reports that as many as 70 could be dead in the factory. One is too many, but we thank God that the number is turning out to be far, far fewer,”
The official statement said, “The President’s action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population,”
Adding, “FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency. Emergency protective measures, including direct federal assistance, will be provided at 75 percent Federal funding.”
6 workers have been reported dead at the Illinois warehouse of Amazon.com Inc, 2 in Arkansas, 4 in Tennessee, and 2 in Missouri. “The very first thing that we have to do is grieve together and we’re going to do that before we rebuild together,” said governor Andy Beshear regarding how the state needs to collectively acknowledge the disasters caused by the Kentucky tornadoes, including both it’s human and infrastructure cost.
