Number of missing after tornadoes now 16, down from more than 100, Beshear says.
Sixteen people are still missing after tornadoes ravaged parts of Western Kentucky on Friday night and Saturday morning, killing dozens and displacing hundreds.
Though 16 are still unaccounted for — 15 of whom are from Hopkins County — that is significantly fewer than the 100-plus who were reportedly missing earlier this week. “That is good news,” Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday in a news update.
At least 76 people have died as a result of the storms — an increase in the death toll of two people from the 74 confirmed dead Tuesday afternoon. The additional deaths include 13-year-old Nyssa Brown in Bowling Green. Her mother, father, three siblings and grandmother were also killed in the tornado. Searchers found the teen’s body in a dense briar thicket near the street where she lived, officials said on Thursday.
Also, Terry Martin Jayne, 67, suffered a heart attack while helping clean up debris at his daughter’s house in Bowling Green.
Just before authorities confirmed finding Nyssa Brown, Beshear had said his office was waiting to confirm at least one more death. “There are initial reports that there may be at least one more that will come in today,” he added.
The state’s death tally, as of Thursday afternoon, ties it with the deadliest tornado event in Kentucky’s history to date. In 1890, a tornado tore through Jefferson County, killing 76 and causing $2.5 million in damages, according to the National Weather Service.
As communities and emergency responders continue to dig through debris of collapsed buildings and homes, more bodies will likely be discovered in the coming days and weeks. The final death toll, Beshear has said, could surpass 80.
At least 138 Kentuckians were taken to emergency rooms due to injuries sustained in the destructive storms, which “will go down as the worst tornado event in the commonwealth’s history,” he said. Most of the injured were from Graves County, with 17 hospitalized as of Wednesday from a collapsed candle factory in Mayfield that killed eight.
Hundreds were left displaced. More than 700 workers with the Federal Emergency Management Agency are surveying damage and processing claims.
Residents and business owners who sustained losses in the storms can call 1-800-621-3362 or visit www.disasterassistance.gov.
Beshear traveled again to Mayfield on Wednesday, where he was joined by President Joe Biden to survey storm damage. To communities in Western Kentucky left in ruins by tornadoes, Biden pledged, “I promise you, the federal government is going to be involved until this gets rebuilt. We’re not leaving.”
In addition to confirming that 100% of the storm-related cleanup will be paid for by the federal government for the next month, Beshear said Thursday that Biden’s visit was emotionally meaningful, both for him, and for the Kentuckians experiencing loss from the devastating storms.
“To look at us in the eye and to tell us that not only was he going to be here for years to come, which is exactly what I need and we needed to hear, but that he cared about us,” the governor said. “The people of both Mayfield and Dawson Springs, I could tell, saw that.”
Later Wednesday evening, surveyors with the National Weather Service preliminarily declared the tornado that ripped through Kentucky Friday night to be at least an EF 4, the second highest designation for a tornado. The width of that storm, NWS declared, was at least a mile wide, wielded winds up to 190 miles per hour, and was on the ground for at least 128 miles. For a tornado to be declared an EF5, recorded winds need to be at least 200 mph.
As of Thursday early afternoon, 11,633 Kentuckians still had no power, down from nearly 80,000 earlier this week, according to poweroutage.us.
Beshear also announced that the state Department of Revenue will honor recently announced IRS special tax relief for taxpayers in any area designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as qualifying for individual assistance due to the tornadoes.
Individuals and households affected by the severe weather in Caldwell, Fulton, Graves, Hopkins, Marshall, Muhlenberg, Taylor and Warren counties qualify for this tax relief. The relief also will be provided to any additional counties FEMA designates.
This extension allows affected taxpayers until May 16, 2022 to file Kentucky income tax returns and submit tax payments for individual income tax, corporate income tax, income tax withholding, and limited liability entity tax.
For instance, certain deadlines falling on or after Dec. 10, 2021 are postponed through May 16, 2022. This includes the April 18, 2022 deadline for filing 2021 individual and business income tax returns and paying any tax due.
“At a time of such unimaginable loss, we want to eliminate any unnecessary burdens so that our people can take care of their loved ones and get their lives back on track,” Beshear said.
Taxpayers are advised to label the top margin of the tax forms filed under this relief provision in large, red letters with the words “Kentucky Tornado Relief.”
Taxpayers requiring additional information or assistance on individual income taxes may contact the Department of Revenue at (502) 564-4581.
The governor also said the stay of two weeks at state parks resorts in the area for persons left homeless by the weather has been extended to four weeks.
Spurred by a reporter’s question, Beshear said the state is looking at a website to provide the various information people might need.
He also said the state is trying to meet transportation needs of people whose cars were destroyed.
This story was originally published December 16, 2021 at 1:09 PM.
