Ninety dead across five states: The deadly tornado outbreak by the numbers

Written by on December 17, 2021

(NEW YORK) — The devastating twisters that tore through the South and the Midwest this weekend marked the deadliest tornado outbreak in the U.S. in a decade.

Here’s a closer look at the tornadoes by the numbers:

90 lives lost

At least 90 people were killed across five states: 76 in Kentucky; six in Illinois; four in Tennessee; two in Arkansas; and two in Missouri.

Victims’ ages in Kentucky range from a 2-month-old to a 98-year-old.

This was the deadliest tornado outbreak in the U.S. since May 2011, when more than 170 people were killed.

35 confirmed tornadoes, 44 reported tornadoes

There were at least 44 reported tornadoes across nine states: Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Indiana, Ohio and Alabama.

Of those, 35 were confirmed tornadoes.

163.5 miles

A continuous tornado path — an EF-4 — spanned 163.5 miles, tearing through Kentucky with winds up to 190 mph.

This now holds the record for the longest continuous tornado track on record in Kentucky.

Over 1,000 homes destroyed

The storms ripped out entire blocks. Beshear said Sunday, “We’re going to have over 1,000 homes that are just gone.”

“I don’t think we’ll have seen damage at this scale ever,” he said.

The governor, choking up, spoke about the destruction in Dawson Springs, a town of fewer than 3,000 residents where he said his father grew up. Beshear said his grandparents’ home is still standing but “one block up and left or right is just gone, just flattened.”

700 FEMA workers

Over 700 FEMA workers were on the ground processing claims as of Thursday, Beshear said.

74,000 meals and 1,500 tarps

FEMA so far has provided Kentucky with 74,000 meals, 18,500 blankets and 1,500 tarps, White House principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday.

ABC News’ Will Gretsky, Melissa Griffin, Dan Peck and Will McDuffie contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


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