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At Least 79 Killed By Tornadoes That Tore Through Southeast & Midwest; Drone Video Shows Scale Of Storm's Destruction In Kentucky; Kentucky Candle Factory Destroyed, Rescues Underway for 110-Plus Employees; More Than 70 Feared Dead After Tornadoes Rip Through Six States But System Still Moving East. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired December 11, 2021 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[13:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Saturday, I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And we begin with this breaking news. A string of powerful violent tornadoes carving a path of destruction across six states and we have just learned at least 79 people have been confirmed killed so far, making it the deadliest December day for tornadoes on record.

The National Weather Service says one of those storms tore attractive damage nearly 200 miles long.

A Kentucky man captured glimpses of one of the massive tornadoes. You can see it right there, extraordinary as lightning illuminates the sky there and you can see the outline of that tornado colossal. The full scope of this disaster across the widespread area is still being assessed.

In Illinois, an Amazon warehouse collapses, killing at least two people. Rescue efforts continue to be underway.

And in Arkansas, a tornado decimated a nursing home, at least one person killed there.

And then in Kentucky, the governor, issuing a state of emergency, the death toll is expected to exceed 79 people in that state alone, possibly many more, officials calling it one of the darkest days in the Commonwealth's history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ANDY BESHEAR (D-KY) (voiceover): While I'm standing outside of what used to be that factory now and that is a level of devastation that none of us have ever seen before.

We have dozens of people that are out here searching, hoping. We haven't, unfortunately, had a successful rescue since about 3 a.m. There's just a huge amount of loss here and across the Commonwealth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: President Biden has been briefed on the destruction and has directed federal support. In a tweet, he calls the disaster an unimaginable tragedy.

CNN Meteorologist, Chad Myers is live for us from the CNN weather center and he's joining me now. I mean, Chad, It's extraordinary to hear any tornado -- any path stretching more than 200 miles.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Especially in December.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

MYERS: I mean, people are texting me how does this happen in December, while it was 80 degrees in Memphis yesterday? Not really December is it?

WHITFIELD: Yes.

MYERS: I mean, so where is this going now? Really, the yellow area is the area of most concern, a slight risk of severe weather there, and then some marginal storms could be in the green.

Now, the good news for today, even if you're in this yellow is that all of the ingredients did not combine today like they combined yesterday and caused all of that devastation.

Yes, there's a line of weather and yes, there could be some winds, an isolated tornado is not out of the question.

But really, this is a thinner line that will make some gusty winds moving toward Atlanta right now also down toward Montgomery, a few storms rolling through Birmingham in the past couple of hours. But we had 30 reports of tornadoes.

Now, many of these reports may be the same tornado on the ground just reported in different towns. We'll have to know that and we'll figure that out when the National Weather Service goes out there and does their assessment of their survey.

So, over one hundred tornado warnings were posted yesterday. Big -- I know we're focused on this Mayfield storm because it was such a devastating storm but Bowling Green, Kentucky got hit so did the Corvette Plant.

There are many areas here with damage as the storms roll here south of Central City through Central City, and there's the one that hit Mayfield last night.

We do know that the one that had Bowling Green at least, for now, was an EF3 tornado. No word yet on the one that hit Mayfield but from what I'm looking, it's a four I think for sure.

Here are the deadliest tornado days. You don't see December anywhere in there because this doesn't usually happen. So EF3 that we know Bowling Green, somewhere in the Ballpark of 150 miles per hour and the devastation I'm seeing in Mayfield at least 200.

It could be a five. I mean, you don't want to jump the gun. And it doesn't matter if it's a four or five with that many people losing their lives.

WHITFIELD: Right. Oh, my God.

MYERS: There goes to storms, they'll be moving offshore, they're going to be doing much better today, this will all be over in a matter of just a few hours for most people here in the U.S.

[13:05:00]

WHITFIELD: Yes. Well, that -- I mean just looking at that property damage --

MYERS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: -- I mean toothpicks. I mean buildings you saw, you know, some of what appeared to be historic brick buildings were only the facade remains, homes and businesses simply plowed down.

I mean, it's a -- it's a horrible situation on so many levels. Chad Myers, thank you so much.

MYERS: Welcome, Fred.

WHITFIELD: We'll check again with you. Appreciate it.

OK, so now take a look at this video, complete -- devastation in Mayfield, Kentucky. Look at that.

I mean, you know, trucks just toppled over. I mean, debris field of seemingly toothpicks, and it looks like toy cars everywhere.

Brandon Clement is a storm chaser. He actually captured a lot of this video for us. He's back with us now. We talked to him a couple hours ago.

And so now Brandon, you've probably got now a little bit more of these images, still extraordinary. Just give me an idea of how you're assessing things. I mean, here you are storm chaser. You've seen devastation in the path of tornadoes but this is just so different.

BRANDON CLEMENT, STORM CHASER, WXCHASING (voiceover): Yes, is this doesn't like a scene in at least a decade. The Lee County tornado in Alabama, I think it killed 27 two years ago, comes close, and as a high-end EF4.

There was another one in Mississippi, it's so weakened, that came close, but not quite to this one. Those were both high-end fours.

I feel very comfortable saying this can be at least a high-end EF4 and it could possibly be the first CFI we've had in quite some time.

The path length is indescribable. All the video you've seen today coming out of Mayfield, just that's 2 percent of the path.

This path could extend well over 200 miles. It started back in Arkansas and those on the ground from Central Arkansas almost all the way to the Mississippi River. And there's some questions whether or not it picked up right over the river, and then it got -- it was back on the ground and tough all the way to Mayfield and well beyond there.

Then there's a question as to whether or not had escaped but these final totals could put it up around the longest track ever for any tornado than you have.

It is one of the most -- one of the strongest tornadoes in December history and one of the deadliest tornadoes in modern history and the deadliest December history. So it is a very historic tornado on many levels.

WHITFIELD: And Brandon, about, where were you overnight ahead of this tornado hitting Mayfield?

I mean, what was your journey like? I mean you're a storm chaser so you know, you knew the forecast. You're on the road, at the ready but where were you at the time of impact?

CLEMENT: I was watching the storm develop in Arkansas and my plan, my play was to go catch it as it crossed Interstate 55 and it was been moving really fast.

And that area had very conducive wind conditions for a tornado to get violent and I figured that's where it would really get going.

And then I tried to catch it. I was going to get some damage done in Arkansas. I knew I couldn't catch it. And then try to come back to Mayfield. That way I could be here at daybreak shoots a drone video. And that's just kind of where we were.

I knew last night it was really bad. You can see because there are no treetops left that you know, you're going to be dealing with a lot.

You could tell by just some of the small indicators like a car wrapped around a tree, a telephone pole snap and then thrown, a whole bunch of different indicators.

WHITFIELD: And these are things you were seeing while you're in transit and it was dark. And then once you got your drone up, was it at daybreak? Was that your first look at just the scope of damage?

CLEMENT: That's when my drone just hit the floor. It was like wow. I knew it was going to be bad but that was just -- it just a whole different level.

WHITFIELD: My goodness. And then what about people? Who, if, anyone were you seeing when you were getting these first images? While I'm looking at these drone images, I'm not seeing people or any movement, but at what point did you start seeing whether it be first responders or people emerging from the rubble? I mean, describe it for me. What did you see?

CLEMENT: You know, it was a combination of everything. People digging through rubble, some people just still in shock, it was first responders clearing roads, some trying to figure out what to do where to start.

It's just a mix of everything you can imagine. There's so many different emotions.

WHITFIELD: And while I'm looking at your images, too, I mean, it's quite extraordinary to even see the roads. I mean, so often, I've covered a lot of tornadoes and been on the ground, and so often roads are impassable.

So it's quite extraordinary that as I'm looking through these images, it seems like the pathway on many of these roads is clear.

[13:10:00]

WHITFIELD: You see a few cars that are trying to get by. Describe what you were seeing and how difficult it was for you to do river -- to traverse?

Oh, I think we may have lost our signal with Brandon.

All right, well, he was quite great in giving us a great description of all that he experienced in reference to what he has experienced before and now these new images of this historic pattern of tornadoes ripping through six states.

Brandon if you can hear us, just know we thank you for this.

All right, we'll continue to follow the breaking news and the path of these devastating storms today. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, an update now on our breaking news. At least 79 people have been killed after a string of violent tornadoes swept across six states, most of those fatalities in Kentucky. It's the deadliest December day for tornadoes on record.

One of the massive tornadoes was caught on camera by a Kentucky man.

[13:15:00]

WHITFIELD: You can see it right there, kind of the silhouette of that tornado during those lightning strikes, extraordinary. The full scope of this disaster is still being assessed.

President Biden has been briefed on the storms and has pledged immediate resources being dedicated to the hard-hit areas. Rescue efforts are still underway in Mayfield, Kentucky, in fact, where a candle factory collapsed during that overnight of devastating storms.

Kentucky's governor says there were about 110 people inside that building at the time the tornado hit.

And this morning, my colleague, Boris Sanchez spoke to a woman who survived after being trapped under several feet of debris.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Kyanna, first and foremost, how are you doing this morning? Are you OK?

KYANNA PARSONS-PEREZ, TRAPPED IN RUBBLE DURING TORNADO: I am doing OK. I'm actually getting ready to go to the hospital here because my head is hurting, and I'm sore.

And I think you know, I didn't want to get checked out just to make sure that everything was OK.

SANCHEZ: I'm glad to hear that you're at least not doing as bad as you could be.

I understand that you made it out of several feet of debris and that it all happened very quickly.

Walk us through what you were doing in the moments that you realize that something was about to go wrong.

PARSONS-PEREZ: I didn't even realize it. We were standing, they had us all, you know, evacuated to the shelter, the safety area. And when we're there, they took attendance.

And then the next thing you know there was like a little gust of wind and I'm like, why are the wind blowing in the factory?

We felt the wind, my ears start popping, and then it was like the building like we all just rocked back and forth and then boom, everything fell on us.

SANCHEZ: And what was that like?

PARSONS-PEREZ: It was the most terrifying thing that I have ever experienced in my life. It was almost a shock, like, wait, is this really happening, you know?

And I love movies. I watch movies all the time. I've watched all these movies or things like this have happened.

It was like oh my god, this is just like, you know, in the movie and it was just, it was extremely scary.

At first, I was really calm and I was trying to keep my co-workers calm and you know, things like that. But then after being pinned down for so long and my legs were hurting and I couldn't move them and I couldn't fill them, and things like that. I started to panic myself. I was calling my mother you know.

Prior to that, I decided to go live, that's how everyone got my live video because when I call 9-1-1 they say we know, you know, we're trying to get there.

And I'm like oh no, Mayfield, I don't know how big Mayfield is but if they got that much damage then if they are working on everywhere else who's going to come get us?

So I decided to go live so that more people could know what was going on so there may be people could come in see about us.

SANCHEZ: And you mean going live on Facebook and --

PARSONS-PEREZ: Yes.

SANCHEZ: -- I understand that you --

PARSONS-PEREZ: I was in the rubble chasing it.

SANCHEZ: I understand why you were doing that, you could hear people around you shouting and folks were pleading for help.

PARSONS-PEREZ: Yes.

SANCHEZ: What did you sense at that moment? Could you make out any specific people that you knew that were nearby?

PARSONS-PEREZ: Well my -- one of my co-workers well, -- several of them will write by me and people were saying their name. One of my co- workers, she says if somebody's got their phone please call my family, tell them I love them.

You know I call it. I call their family -- I call her family for her. When we're talking they kept calling they called us back and forth throughout the time there would -- she told us that people were on their way, she then was telling us that people are there.

We were just so far under. We didn't know people were there until we start feeling pressure on us because people were walking on you know the building. We're like hey, we under here.

We were hitting stuff but we didn't want to hit too much because they told us not to move too much because it may make more stuff fall. So it was --

SANCHEZ: How did you -- how were you able to get out? Where did someone move stuff around so that you can get up on your own? Did they help you lift you out?

PARSONS-PEREZ: They definitely lifted me, and then one was pushing and one was pulling for me. But what happened, we were all kind of packed up in there in the corner. We were packed in there. And so once one person got out, then they were able to get somebody else out, and then able to get somebody else out. And I was the last person in that section to get out.

And I was pinned underneath the water fountain and then I found out later that the water fountain was -- behind the water fountain was an air conditioning unit.

And so when one of the rescue people were there, I'm screaming like, sir can you please just get this so I can move my leg? He says ma'am, there's five -- there's about five feet worth of debris on top of you.

SANCHEZ: Wow. Kyanna --

PARSONS-PEREZ: So I was extremely scared and so --

[13:20:00]

SANCHEZ: Yes, understandably.

PARSONS-PEREZ: -- When they're started getting the debris from underneath me since we couldn't do anything with the top. They got everything under from underneath me, they started breaking up the -- they had already started breaking up the drywall but just moving everything.

And then with those people being gone, though rescue person was able to get down in there, and he kind of helped me to shift my bottom, I was able to kind of twist my butt to where I can get that leg free.

And then I was able to kind of lift and pull my body up but my leg was -- he took my shoe off for me because that was going to be a problem trying to give enough space.

And then they started -- I was able to turn and lift and he was pulling -- pushing, he literally was underneath me and pushing my butt up and there was somebody else pulling my arms and going like that.

SANCHEZ: I'm glad that they were there to help you, Kyanna especially because as we just heard from the governor of Kentucky, Andy Beshear, they have not had a successful rescue since about 3 a.m.

I'm wondering if you knew people in that factory, seeing the images that we're seeing now, how you feel about the idea that a lot of folks didn't get out.

PARSONS-PEREZ: That breaks my heart is because there was one person in particular that I found out that I kind of knew her. I didn't know her well but I did know her. She was always sweet and really friendly. And they said that she didn't make it.

And that's tough, you know because no one expects to go to work and not come home. That's not what you -- I mean, you know, I tell people all the time, you know, I work -- I work so that I can live. I don't live to work.

So to go to work, you know, and not go home and to have this happen, it is devastating, it breaks my heart.

And it just -- it breaks my heart in at the same time it -- and I hate to say this, but at the same time, it makes me very grateful that I was able -- you know that for some reason I was spared.

SANCHEZ: Kyanna, we are so glad that you are OK. I hope that things go well when you visit the hospital later.

I'm sorry that you had to go through this and I'm sorry that you may have lost people that you know but we're grateful to have you on and have your voice sharing what you went through last night.

Kyanna Parsons-Perez, thank you for the time.

PARSONS-PEREZ: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Wow, she was so incredibly descriptive. And of course, we hope she is OK as she continues to try to get some attention for her hurting head.

All right, we'll continue to follow breaking news. At least 70 people in Kentucky are likely dead following these powerful storms. But officials fear it could be much worse. The potential for more storms continues moving east. The latest forecast, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:25:00]

WHITFIELD: All right, we're staying on top of our breaking news. Multiple tornadoes ripping through the Central and Southern U.S., dozens are now feared dead.

Kentucky, Illinois, Tennessee, Missouri, Mississippi, and Arkansas all suffering significant widespread damage, you can see the images right there.

Search and rescue efforts are underway to find survivors believe trapped under so many collapsed buildings. And today is being called the deadliest December day for tornadoes on record.

CNN's Nadia Romero is on the ground there in hard-hit Mayfield, Kentucky. What are you seeing? I mean, so many different perspectives you've been bringing us, what are you seeing right now?

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, Fredricka, we're starting to see a lot more resources showing up here in Mayfield, Kentucky.

So to give you an idea, we're still a couple of hours away from Nashville, the closest I guess major city would be Paducah, Kentucky. So as you can imagine, when you're trying to get resources here, it takes a little while. And then you have debris scattered across the roads because there was a major tornado that happened in this entire region, that storm that came through -- that brought so much damage specifically right here.

This is the area they're calling ground zero, outside of this candle factory. Take a look behind me.

You can't really see it because it's been flattened as that tornado came through and ripped it apart.

And people who drive up say, is this where the factory was? The answer is yes, this is where it was.

But unfortunately, it's not standing any longer which is why the Governor says that they expect to see 50 plus up to some 100 people dead in this candle factory.

Now we're told by some workers that they were working overtime and that had been the case for the past couple of weeks because it's the holidays.

They were trying to get those candles made and those orders out, so they were working overtime late into the night. And that's when the storm rolled through.

Well, we interviewed a man earlier today who's back on scene helping. His name is Ivy Williams and he's looking for his wife, Janine. He says they've been together for 30 years, and he just can't find her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IVY WILLIAMS, MISSING WIFE WORKS AT THE CANDLE FACTORY: All with them away. I hope that enough she's still somewhere safe. I hope she's somewhere safe. Baby, please call me so we get confirmed. Please call me. I'm looking for you babe, we've been looking for you. Me, them, kid, we all looking for you right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMERO: It's just horrible. And you can hear that pain, that devastation in his voice. He spoke to me for quite some time.

He came back. He called me not long ago asking me, have you heard of Janine? Have you seen her?

Unfortunately, the answer is no. And that answer is what so many families are hearing as they come here trying to figure out what happened to their loved ones.

[13:30:00]

Now, there is another area for families to reunite. People are being asked not to come to this site any long because there are so many emergency crews and they're working to try to find anyone who may still be alive. Fred, we spoke with another girl who came here. She said she used to

work in this building. She was looking for her friend. She had just turned 30 years old. And she pulled her out of the rubble but she did not survive.

That's something we keep hearing from people that they know their loved ones were there last night and they don't believe they survived. Some pulled out. Some of them may still be in there right now.

That's why you're seeing this emergency response. You have crews coming in from neighboring counties, neighboring cities, doing everything they can here in Mayfield, Kentucky -- Fred?

WHITFIELD: Terribly devastating. All right. We sure hope that Ivy Williams and his family can hold on to some good news.

Thank you so much, Nadia Romero. Appreciate that.

A short time ago, President Biden was briefed on the situation. And we're learning that he spoke with Kentucky Governor Beshear.

Arlette Saenz is -- are you at the White House or are you traveling with the president --

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I'm at the White House.

WHITFIELD: OK, you are at the White House. The president is in Delaware.

What are you learning about their call?

SAENZ: Fred, President Biden spoke earlier today with Kentucky's governor, Andy Beshear, where the president expressed condolences for the lives lost and those impacted communities and also pledged federal support to the impacted areas in Kentucky.

The president a bit earlier today also sent out a tweet calling that those lives lost were an unimaginable tragedy.

Now, President Biden is spending this weekend at home in Wilmington, Delaware. But while there, he received a briefing on the severe weather that's impacted so many states across the country in the past 24 hours.

The president also directed FEMA to surge federal resources as quickly as possible to help these communities.

He was briefed by the FEMA director, Deanne Criswell, as well as his Homeland Security adviser, Liz Sherwood-Randall.

So right now, we are also just waiting to hear what kind of resources FEMA and the federal government is -- are deploying to these areas.

We know that Kentucky's Governor Andy Beshear requested an emergency declaration for the state from the federal government. That often takes some time to make its way through the pipeline. We will see if we get announcement on that front in the coming hours.

But in addition to pledging this federal support, at some point, we also will see President Biden likely head into that familiar role of comforter in chief.

We have seen him in the past go to disaster areas, since he has been president, traveling to Hurricane Ida areas, also wildfires, down in Texas when they were impacted by that major snowstorm.

Right now, it's likely too early to tell if and when the president would travel to some of these impacted areas.

But certainly, with his connection and experience with loss, it's very likely he will try to play that role of comforter in chief with all of those families who have lost loved ones while also trying to offer that federal support and resources from the federal government.

WHITFIELD: All right, Arlette Saenz, at the White House, thank you so much for that.

So while some states have begun damage assessments from those deadly tornadoes, others remain in the path as the system still makes its way east.

CNN meteorologist, Chad Myers, live for us in the CNN Weather Center.

What potentially could be next?

MYERS: Really the storms continue to move to the east. The air is very warm.

People have been asking, is this climate change related? The answer is we don't yet know. But heat waves, floods, obviously, fires.

But at the bottom of the list, tornadoes not well understood. Most happen in the middle part the country in the middle part of the year, in the spring.

But we're seeing more and more tornadoes on the shoulder seasons, when obviously places in Memphis were 80 degrees yesterday. That's just unheard of for a December day. When you get that kind of heat, you can certainly get those kinds of tornadoes.

With the yellow area here, you see surrounding Atlanta almost up to Charlotte, that's the area that still is under the gun for something.

All the way even towards Blacksburg we have severe thunderstorm warnings likely just for wind. Just not seeing rotation with it.

Same story here for Atlanta. All the way down to the south here.

I'm worried a few of these storms here in this very warm sector again, not along the squall line, they could make put down hail and possibly even spin up, but not like yesterday.

The ingredients were all there yesterday for these big tornados. We know the one that hit Bowling Green is at least in EF-3. We've found that damage. And surveys are still going on. I can easily see some of these being EF-4s without a doubt.

And 600,000 people right now, customers without power. That's with more than one person in a household, so at least over a million.

We've had 100 tornado warnings put out yesterday, the most of any December day.

[13:35:01]

I know you see the tracks of all of those warnings going through Monette into parts of Arkansas then sliding to the north and to the northeast as the day goes on.

The deadliest days in tornado history are not in December. Obviously, of course, that is still going to be put up for debate on whether we're going to see more and more of these tornadoes on these shoulder seasons.

Like we have a longer wildfire season in California. Like we have tropical storms before hurricane season. These seasons, these shoulder seasons getting a little bit longer.

WHITFIELD: Yes. All getting way too confusing.

MYERS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Chad Myers, thank you so much.

MYERS: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: All right, we'll have so much more on this breaking news straight ahead. Nearly 80 people feared dead after a series of tornadoes ripped through six states overnight. We'll continue to bring you the latest updates. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:40:27]

WHITFIELD: All right. Update on breaking news. Death toll from violent overnight storms now stands at 79 people. Six states across the Midwest hit, making it the deadliest December day for tornadoes on record.

In Illinois, an Amazon warehouse collapsed killing at least two people.

In Arkansas, at least one person died when a tornado decimate a nursing home.

And the Kentucky governor declaring a state of emergency and asking FEMA for help.

Hundreds of thousands of people remain without power in several states.

In Bowling Green, Kentucky, reporter, Lindsey Nance, at affiliate, WSMV, had a look at the devastation. Here's her reporting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LINDSEY NANCE, REPORTER, WSMV: We're about 15 minutes west of western Kentucky University in Bowling Green on Russellville Road. And a lot of people who live in this area tell me this is the hardest-hit neighborhood. And that's apparent.

The National Weather Service just confirmed about 30 minutes ago out of Louisville we had an EF-2, at least an EF-2 tornado confirmed with winds up to 120 miles per hour.

Now, we walked just a few steps away from where we were previously when you saw me and you can barely make your way through the rubble and damage.

You see a car completely on top of its side and looks like the roof of this home was just blown off altogether.

We've been walking around the neighborhood. We've seen some families hugging, some families just sitting on top of their roof in disbelief what's even going on. They can't go back into their homes to get everything.

If I take you down this way, the worst of the damage I've seen so far. Just an incredible amount of debris. Chunks of wood just laying there and cars toppled into that valley in between this massive neighborhood.

Keep in mind, a lot of these families have been without a home since about 1:00 this morning.

They told me the storm was so loud when it came through they thought it was gunshots fired in the area and it was absolutely terrifying and traumatic for all of them.

Right now, crews are trying to work through the rubble. We've seen police, we've seen emergency crews, we've even seen fatal teams out here.

The death toll stands at 50 right now in the state of Kentucky but we do expect that to keep climbing as crews find more people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Wow. Thank you for that report. Extraordinary images. So hard to believe.

In Bowling Green, Kentucky, Lindsey Nance brought us that closer look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMBER TUCKER, BOWLING GREEN, KY, RESIDENT: A call like at 3:00 from my mom. Firefighters took her down to the elementary school down the street.

I went and picked her up. We came here, looked at everything. It was dark. It was 3:00 in the morning. You know, you can only see so much as the flashlight would go.

We tried to look around the yard for our stuff, see if we could find any clothes, any dry -- it was raining. Anything like that.

Then this morning, when the sun came up came over and starting going through our stuff and getting necessities, pictures and stuff. That's what we've focused on.

It's just unreal. It's unreal. Just looking at all the wood on the ground and the nails and -- it's just -- stuff you see on TV and the news channel.

It doesn't happen in your town until it happens in your town. And then you have to try to figure out what to do from there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: It's all so terrible.

[13:43:56]

We'll have so much more straight ahead as we learn more about the fatalities and stunning destruction from this string of tornadoes overnight. We'll bring you the latest straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:48:34]

WHITFIELD: Turning to our breaking news now. At least 79 people feared dead after a series of tornadoes slammed six states overnight.

Officials in Kentucky are calling it "the" worst tornado event to ever hit the state. Most of those fatalities coming from that state.

But also we've seen damage elsewhere. This is a collapsed Amazon warehouse in Illinois. At least two people were killed there as rescue efforts continue.

And then to Arkansas where tornadoes leveled a nursing home killing at least one person. We'll speak to Governor Asa Hutchinson in a few moments.

Among the hardest-hit areas, Mayfield, Kentucky.

Our affiliate in the region has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

MARVIS HERRING, REPORTER, WLKY: Now that the sun is up, you can see how much damage has happened inside this barn in Spencer County. You can see they have thousands of dollars' worth of equipment in here. That this has just come right down on and smashed right on top of it.

And, really, you can see there was no time to get anything out of here with those winds just whipping through this area.

You can even see part of the debris that's on the ground inside of there as well.

And it's just really incredible damage to see how this wind just sheared off pieces of wood like this. You can see that it kind of snapped in the wind that kind of whipped through here overnight.

[13:50:01]

I mean, we even showed you, just a little while ago, some of the debris that was strewn over there. But if you look inside, this really came right down.

And speaking with the owners over here, they say they've seen nothing like this. Luckily, no injuries reported on this property, though you can see there's a lot of clean up that's necessary.

This is just one of three of the barns we saw. If you come around the corner, you can see the damage that they've started to clean up that's kind of strewn about on the property.

And then just really look at this part of the rooftop over here. That shows you, this came all apart in the wind that was coming through here overnight and the rain overnight as well.

This is what we are seeing all morning on this property that's just off of old Louisville road. It's incredible damage.

The owners have really been taking it well, saying they're just glad that no one was injured, and that they will recuperate from this as best as possible.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WHITFIELD: Marvis Herring, thank you so much for that look.

We're also monitoring another location in the Blue Grass State.

Our CNN affiliate, WFIE, reports on the destruction in Bremen, Kentucky. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED WFIE REPORTER: This right here, it's just every home, every tree. Every tree is snapped, every power line is down. There's cars flipped over. Look at this van right here. Just thrown into this ditch.

Look at this home right here. It's not even there anymore. That's just the foundation and a couple walls.

We passed a House earlier where you could still see the childrens' clothes hanging in the closet. It's just devastating, just absolutely devastating.

I mean, even Trooper McPherson says he's never seen anything like this in his life. It's heartbreaking. Just look at that.

We saw two churches that had major damage to them, some of the walls down, roof caved in.

But you can see people are out and they're assessing the damage. But I think they're still in awe. They're in shock. But trying to start some kind of cleanup.

Crews are trying to get power restored if they're able. Here are people trying to get their roof patched up. You can see the damage there.

Like I said, their whole garage door blown off there. But they're actually lucky compared to, like, their neighbors who lost their roof.

Or you look over here, there's not even homes standing.

Look at this view right here. This right here, you can just see -- I think the tornado, I'm assuming, came right down through here and across there.

I mean, just seeing this is just heartbreaking.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WHITFIELD: Damage as far as the eye can see.

Our thank to affiliate, WFIE, for that report.

All right, straight ahead, we'll get back to our breaking news as we learn more about the damage and fatalities from the line of tornadoes that ripped through too many states overnight.

But first, this week's "START SMALL, THINK BIG."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TERRY FREY, OWNER, CRAFT TREE BY TERRY: They're crocheted animals with baby blanket yarn.

I'm Terry Frey. I'm the owner of Craft Tree by Terry.

I was a dance teacher and then I became a mom. I started crocheting about 25 years ago. I taught myself on YouTube how to do the different types of stitches. And I decided I wanted to expand my hobby into a business.

I had no idea when I started that I would be at a shop selling them, online, and all over the country.

I choose my critters by inspiration. I'll see a picture and I like the animal, so I just go from there. They're all my original designs. It's basically the legs and the arms

and the body. It's the head that changes. The tails are also important.

One of my best accomplishments was I made an octopus for a little boy who was getting a heart transplant. His mom requested a red octopus with a purple heart on its leg. He got through the operation and he's doing great.

I hope my products will mean companionship for a little child and to give the grandmother, who is giving the present, a joy.

[13:54:28]

If you have a passion for something, go ahead and try it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin with breaking news. Rescue and recovery efforts are under way after violent tornadoes went through six states, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri and Illinois.

The daylight now revealing the shocking extent of the damage. More than 70 people are feared dead.

President Biden briefed on the situation this morning, directing federal resources to help in this devastating situation.

[13:59:59]

CNN's Nadia Romero is on the ground in the hard-hit town of Mayfield, Kentucky.

Nadia, what more are you learning there?

ROMERO: Yes, well, Fredricka, we're seeing more resources coming in.