BEFORE (left): Overview of Mayfield Consumer Products Candle Factory and nearby buildings before the tornado on Jan. 28, 2017. AFTER (right) Overview of the damage to the Mayfield Consumer Products Candle Factory and nearby buildings after the tornado on Dec. 11, 2021.
Multiple states in the South and Midwest are dealing with massive damage and destruction following a series of deadly tornadoes that ravaged the region Friday night into Saturday morning.
The extreme weather occurred in parts of Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Illinois, Mississippi and Missouri — with communities in western Kentucky hit exceptionally hard.
More than 80 people have been reported dead in Kentucky alone, and that number is expected to surpass 100, Gov. Andy Beshear told NPR on Sunday.
Search and rescue operations are continuing throughout the area and a state of emergency has been declared.
What follows below are satellite images showing the scale of the devastation in three of the states that were hit.
BEFORE (left): Homes and buildings before the tornado in Mayfield, Ky. on Jan. 28, 2017. AFTER (right): this image shows the damage to homes and buildings after the tornado in Mayfield, Ky. on Dec. 11, 2021.
BEFORE (left): Farm buildings before tornado in Monette, Arkansas on Feb. 22, 2021. AFTER (right): Damage to farm buildings after tornado in Monette, Arkansas on Dec. 11, 2021.
BEFORE (left): Close-up view of Monette Manor Nursing Home on Feb. 22, 2021. AFTER (right): Close-up view shows damage to Monette Manor Nursing Home on Dec. 11, 2021.
Edwardsville, Ill.
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BEFORE (left): Amazon Warehouse and buildings Edwardsville, Illinois on Sept. 24, 2021. AFTER (right): Amazon Warehouse and buildings Edwardsville, Illinois on Dec. 11, 2021
Elena Moore is a production assistant for the NPR Politics Podcast. She also fills in as a reporter for the NewsDesk. Moore previously worked as a production assistant for Morning Edition. During the 2020 presidential campaign, she worked for the Washington Desk as an editorial assistant, doing both research and reporting. Before coming to NPR, Moore worked at NBC News. She is a graduate of The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and is originally and proudly from Brooklyn, N.Y.
A severe storm system caused scores of deaths and injuries and significant damage at a Kentucky candle factory, an Amazon facility in Illinois, a nursing home in Arkansas and many homes and buildings.
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