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Tornados Devastate Parts Of Kentucky And Arkansas; Man Continues Searching For Wife In Candle Factory Collapsed By Tornado; Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson Is Interviewed On Rescue Efforts After Tornado Devastates Parts Of His State; Man Captures Approaching Tornado On Video; President Biden Expected To Deliver Remarks On Storms Sweeping Through Five U.S. States; Interview With Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL); Amazon Warehouse Partially Collapses Due To Severe Weather In Illinois. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired December 11, 2021 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: And Nadia, what more are you learning there.

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, we're seeing more of those resources coming in. We know the governor declared a state of emergency just last night, after those tornadoes ripped through most of his state. And so now we're seeing all of the help that's coming in from different emergency response teams.

But we're also noticing a lot of construction companies coming out with heavy equipment because they're still trying to find any survivors by grabbing all of that metal and the debris and moving it out of the way. That's why it's even more noisier now than the last time we spoke.

I also found out, Fredricka, that there are supervisors for the Mayfield Candle Company that own this factory behind me, they were out here helping those first responders to tell them, this is an area where a lot of people would have been last night. This is an area that you should search. So that has been helpful in those search efforts as well, having someone who is familiar with the factory on the ground.

But when the storm first hit, when that tornado rolled through and hit this candle factory, it was really people in the community and people who had family members inside who were the first ones to come out and tried to pull their friends and family out of that debris before emergency response crews got here. And we spoke to one of those men. His name is Ivy Williams. He's looking for his wife, Janine Williams, and he just had just a morning and overnight hours that were so painful for him. He says he's pulled out two people, but he still hasn't found his wife.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IVY WILLIAMS, MISSING WIFE WORKS AT THE CANDLE FACTORY: I want to find my wife. I want to find her. I hope she's somewhere safe. I hope she's somewhere safe. Baby, please call me so we can connect. Please call me. I'm looking for you, baby. We've been looking for you. Me, the kids, we're all looking for you right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMERO: So it has been just a devastating day for Ivy Williams. And then I saw him come back to the area, so he was here all overnight. He was in clothes that were soaking wet. He was freezing cold when I spoke with him this morning. He went home, dried up, came right back out to help with other members of his family. The Williams family, other families all out here trying to figure out what happened to their loved ones.

But right now first responders are asking people, if you're not a first responder to not come to this site. And so many people with the biggest hearts have showed up here with palates of water, with snacks, with something that they can give the search and rescue crews that really speaks to the heart of this community.

And the entire city of Mayfield is just reeling right now. This tornado came here, obviously the big impact here at the candle factory, but all across this town just looks like a bomb went off. That's how it was described to me earlier today. Not like a tornado that just ripped a few things up, but it looks like this area was just blown up overnight, and that is what so many people here are dealing with, Fred.

WHITFIELD: It is a remarkable sight. All the pictures are just jaw- dropping every time you see them. Nadia Romero, thank you so much.

So while some states begin their damage assessments after those deadly tornadoes, others remain in the path as the system makes its way east now. CNN meteorologist Chad Myers is live for us in the CNN Weather Center, and he's joining me. So Chad, the timing for this type of storm, very unusual. You showed us a graphic earlier. Usually in the spring, sometimes summer months. But December?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It really is kind of ironic here that Mayfield was 70 degrees yesterday. This is pretty far north for 70. But that was the heat and the humidity that the storm needed. Right now where she is standing, Nadia is standing, it's only 45 with the wind out of the north. So these rescuers are dealing with a little bit of wind and cold weather as well now that the cold front has gone by, the cold front that developed this storm.

So here's what we're talking now. Still, the orange and the green here could still have some severe weather. Not true weather like yesterday, because the ingredients aren't all there like they were yesterday. Yes, it's warm in Atlanta and it's about to rain here, maybe even a bolt of thunder or lightning here, and just here and there, but this is not the same atmosphere that we had.

A little bit farther down to the south, the weather service in Alabama, Birmingham, talking about some of these storms having some broad rotation. That doesn't mean that they're on the ground with a tornado, but if you look up you can almost see a spin to the cloud. And then that could translate to something if it continues to get bigger. Thirty reports or more of tornadoes yesterday, mainly in line, so I'm

thinking many of these reports are from the same tornado. The weather service is getting out there, they're looking up what's here. But 100 and more warnings, tornado warnings yesterday, the biggest number, the most warnings of any December day in history since we've been putting out warnings. And there's the storm in Mayfield moving up toward Central City, a big tornado rolled through Bowling Green earlier in the morning. These were overnight tornadoes.

[14:05:01]

That's another thing that doesn't happen. Certainly, some can be, but because we usually get the sunshine and things warm up and the storms want to go up in the air. But these came well after dark. All these deadly tornadoes, not one of them even close to December, and that's kind of the irony of what happened here.

The dynamics were in the air. They're not today, and that's the good news, but we have to watch these things. I tweeted out, I think it was a couple days ago, I said tornadoes can happen in any month. You need to be prepared for this, and I was hoping not for this outcome, but it happened.

WHITFIELD: Right. And it sounds like you're letting us know, too, when you have that kind of extreme sudden temperature change, that is also a recipe for terrible things like this. Thank you so much, Chad Myers. Check back with you.

With us now, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson. Governor, I'm glad you're able to be with us on the phone now. I know earlier you toured the damaged down of Monette. Can you give us an update on all that you saw and with the damage and fatalities, the stories behind that?

GOV. ASA HUTCHINSON (R-AR): Yes, I this morning went to Monette, which was a town that had so much damage in terms of its residences as a result of the tornado. But the greatest damage was in a nursing home that had 65 residents, and we lost one of those residents.

But it could have been much more devastating, except for the quick response of the people who got them out into another home. But also our warning system worked. There was at least 20 minutes warning sound where the residents were able to get into a more protected area, which was simply the hallway.

But whenever you're looking at the elderly residents of that nursing home, the fact that we lost one is very sad, but the rest of them were saved and are safe now.

We also -- I also looked at a number of other cities that were damaged in the course of this hurricane. We lost another one in a store in Leachville, small town in northeast, Arkansas. But there's a lot of property damage. We're recovering from this. We're prepared for this, and our heart goes out to Kentucky and to see their loss.

Five governors that have been impacted by the tornado just got off the phone with the president of the United States, and President Biden assured us of support, but also expressed support for what we're going through during this time. And I wanted to pass that along to our citizens.

WHITFIELD: And Governor, I would like our numbers just to be in step with yours. We had confirmation that there are three fatalities, including the one at the nursing home. Is that in step with what you have?

HUTCHINSON: At this point I have two confirmed deaths. One is in Monette at the nursing home, and the other one was in Leachville at a store that was struck in a deadly fashion. I'm not aware of the third, but the reports are continuing to come in.

WHITFIELD: OK, we're going to double-check and triple-check on that. You mentioned the federal resources. What resources in particular do you think are most needed there in Arkansas?

HUTCHINSON: Well, at this point it's recovery time. We've got our citizens more safe, so we're responding. Eventually we will need public assistance, which is for destroyed fire department, for example. We expect to reach the threshold for federal assistance, but that will take time to measure that damage. Right now, if we needed anything, we would ask for it and we would get it. But we're capable right now with our resources in the state to respond to the need. We'll see if anything additional is needed.

Right now, it's clearing, it is debris removal. We want to make sure that the personal needs are met in terms of shelter, and our churches, our nonprofits are stepping up to the plate to accomplish that. So we're good right now, and we're just praying for all the others that have been harmed.

WHITFIELD: So, governor, Arkansas is accustomed to tornadoes. I've covered tornadoes there in your state on the ground there. But this was something remarkably different. In terms of your reference point and experience to tornadoes, how do you assess this one? How do you compare them?

HUTCHINSON: Well, what startles me is, of course, as you reported, the time of the year is very unusual. The springtime is when we consider tornado season, so this is unusual because of the warm weather that we've experienced this winter.

But the second thing is that the length of this tornado and the damage that it did along a path that could have included four states.

[14:10:09]

Now, we don't know for sure whether it was one tornado or a series of tornadoes along the same path, but it looks like it was one tornado that touched down numerous times in Arkansas, and that's unusual to see that length of damage. And so you have one town that's hurt, but you go to the next town, they were devastated, you go to the third town, they were in the path as well. So the length and the damage done by this one sequence of tornadoes or one tornado is very unusual. WHITFIELD: When you were in Monette, and you've had an opportunity to

talk with people, from first responders to ordinary citizens, what were their thoughts to you?

HUTCHINSON: Well, by and large, it was that they were startled that we only lost one of the residents of that nursing home. Last night I was getting information that it was a mass casualty event. And if you look at the building that was totally demolished, you would assume that as well. And so they're really expressing gratitude that the residents got out safely.

The other thing is that they are resilient, but the volunteers that are there, and the ones that responded in the middle of the night, from pharmacists that helped with medication, to the owner and the state police and school officials that helped move these residents to other places where they could be safe, that's what everybody was pulled together, and that's what we could see, and that's really the point of gratitude that we have.

WHITFIELD: OK, Governor Asa Hutchinson, thank you so much for your time. All the best to you and your fellow Arkansans.

HUTCHINSON: Thank you. Good to be with you today.

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much.

Still ahead, we will talk to the Kentucky man who shot this incredible video of the storm there. Right there, you can see the silhouette of that funnel cloud. More of that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:16:23]

WHITFIELD: We're following this breaking news in the path of destruction from that powerful string of tornadoes that whipped across the southeast and Midwest. More than 70 people are feared dead. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear says the death toll in Kentucky alone is expected to exceed more than 70.

And take a look and listen to this video that one Kentucky man shot of the storm. Do you hear that? And you can see the silhouette and the lightning strikes of, yes, that big funnel cloud right there. Eddie Knight shot that video, and he's joining me right now on the phone. Eddie, oh, my gosh, that you had the wherewithal to shoot this. What did you hear, and what provoked you to shoot this?

EDDIE KNIGHT, CAPTURED TORNADO ON VIDEO: Well, we've been watching storms all night, and two systems went through, and then kind of watched this one coming up on radar weather a little bit. And noticeably, it was getting really, close.

And so I heard the noise, and I got out on the front porch and started looking toward the noise. And then I saw it, and I was like, well, I don't know. I just started shooting the video because, to be honest with you, I thought it was coming right at us. But it fortunately missed us, but my neighbors up the road really got hit really hard, really bad.

WHITFIELD: Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that.

KNIGHT: I just heard that we had 11 fatalities in this small community. So my heart is with them.

WHITFIELD: I know this is an extraordinary moment. I can only imagine, your heart just palpitating there. And then as I look at this, I'm seeing the headlights of the car that is going by, seemingly unbeknownst to it that in the distance there is that funnel cloud. So what did you feel? You did a great job describing what you were hearing and then what you saw. I mean, did you feel a difference in the air? Oftentimes when a tornado is about to hit, there is that.

KNIGHT: Didn't really feel the air pressure drop until we got in the basement. We got down in the basement, and then all of a sudden I heard -- you could feel the pressure drop and then the house popped. Of course, we didn't sustain any damage here, just minor damage.

But, yes, the air pressure dropped, and it got real loud for a little bit, and then it was over with. It was that quick. It's amazing how these tornadoes that come in in just a second and tear up everything, and destroy lives and kill people and property in just a millisecond, almost. It was over and done with before you even knew it.

WHITFIELD: And Eddie, you mentioned while you're fortunate enough that that tornado did not come directly at your home as you thought instinctively it might, but did you say it was a friend or neighbor whose home was damaged by what you believe to be that tornado?

KNIGHT: The whole community of Bremen, between me and Bremen, Kentucky, it hit about maybe half, three-quarters of a mile from my house. And I'm thinking what I'm hearing it was about a mile wide, and it just levelled everything up there pretty much. And that's where the 11 fatalities happened, I'm afraid. And it's pretty bad, really bad.

Not able to hear much about what's going on because we don't have any power and cable and stuff. Cell service is sketchy, so you probably know more about what's going on than I do. I do know that we lost a lot of Kentuckians during the storm, in Mayfield and some other areas. But this little community here is really hit hard.

[14:20:08]

WHITFIELD: You have the living experience of what you endured right there in Sacramento, Kentucky. And, yes, so many parts of your state hit very, very hard. I know in a strange way you're counting your blessings because your home was undamaged, but, like you said, you know people in the neighboring community that were hit very hard.

Eddie Knight, we thank you for sharing your story, your experience, and your video. Extraordinary. That is a monster of a tornado that you can see the silhouette in the midst of those lightning strikes. I'm so glad you're well. Thanks for taking the time with us, Eddie, and all the best to you as you try to get some power restored there.

KNIGHT: Appreciate it. And like I said, I just shot the video. It was just instinct. So I just -- anyway.

WHITFIELD: Well, your instincts were great. Eddie Knight, thank you. All the best to you.

KNIGHT: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: So after the break, as responders scramble to rescue people trapped in flattened buildings, the storm continues to make its way east. We'll bring you the latest weather forecast. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:25:47]

WHITFIELD: Hours after deadly overnight tornadoes tore through states in the Midwest and southeast and rescue crews and local officials continue to try to assess the damage. I want to take you now to Bremen, Kentucky, where assessments are being made.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

SHAELIE CLARK, WFIE ANCHOR: This right here, it's just every home, every tree, every tree is snapped, every power line is down. Cars, 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 if you could still see the children's clothes hanging in the closet. It's just devastating, just absolutely devastating. Even Trooper McPherson (ph) 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, one, 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 out trying to get power restored if they're able. Here's some people out just trying to get their roof patched up. You can see the damage there. But their whole garage door blown off. But they're actually lucky compared to their neighbors here, who lost their roof. Or you look over here, there's just 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. Just seeing this is just heartbreaking.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WHITFIELD: Thanks to our affiliate WFIE for that report.

And we're also just learning now that President Biden will be delivering remarks in reference to these fatal storms later on this afternoon. Let's check in at the White House now with our Arlette Saenz. Arlette, what are you hearing?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, President Biden is expected to deliver remarks this afternoon on those devastating storms that swept through five states here in the United States Friday into Saturday morning. The president, this will give the president a chance to not just talk about the federal support that he is lending to these states, but also offer some words of comfort to those who have lost loved ones and seen their homes and belongings scattered, as we've seen in those devastating images, of the impact of these storms and tornadoes.

Now, earlier today the president spoke with some of the governors who were impacted from the states that were impacted by these storms, as Governor Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas just told you a little while ago. He was on a phone call with five of those governors where he offered his sympathy, and also any assistance that the federal government could send their way.

Now, the president was also briefed by his top -- the director of FEMA, Deanne Criswell, as well as his homeland security adviser, and he directed them to surge federal assistance to the areas to help them in the devastation and aftermath of these storms.

Now, the president is spending the weekend at home in Wilmington, Delaware, so that is where he will be delivering these remarks in just a few hours as he's trying to offer some words of comfort to the people who have been impacted, and also lay out how the federal government is responding and helping in this situation, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Arlette Saenz, keep us posted. Thank you so much for that.

CNN meteorologist Chad Myers is live for us in the CNN Weather Center, and he's joining me right now. So this storm did a lot of damage, but it's not done yet?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Not all the way done, but the ingredients that we had yesterday are not combining today. We're going to have some squall lines, which means the storm will push forward with wind, 30, maybe 50 miles per hour. Some of the storms down in Alabama are rotating and there's more lightning down there as well. They're not rotating on the ground, but rotating themselves, which means the potential is there for areas to get a tornado warning.

[14:30:00]

Right now we have don't have any warnings, no watches posted whatsoever, so certainly not the day or the overnight that we had last night. And by later on today and into tomorrow night, this thing is all gone. It's much colder behind it, but really, it's the cold air we need here to get rid of this.

Yesterday in Memphis, Tennessee, it was 80 degrees, 80 in a December day. So people are asking all over the Internet, is this climate change? Can you say climate change on one event? No. But isn't that what you expect if you're going to get 80 degrees on a winter day and a cold front that barrels through? So you can draw your own conclusions, but certainly there's some type of fingerprint there that likely is climate change related.

And 625,000 customers without power at this hour. Some of these storms were on the ground for almost 200 miles. One hundred separate tornado warnings issued by the National Weather Service offices yesterday. And the one that went from Monette, you talked about Asa Hutchinson, you talked to him a little bit earlier, the governor of Arkansas, all the way past Central City, that was 200 miles on the ground, likely. They'll be flying over that one to make sure. Fred?

WHITFIELD: Wow. I sure hope this is an anomaly. We didn't need this and we certainly don't need a repeat of anything like this. Chad Myers, thank you so much.

And of course, we'll continue to follow this breaking news. Much more straight ahead on the damage left behind by these tornadoes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:36:00]

WHITFIELD: All right, we'll get back to our storm coverage in a moment. But right now Senate Democrats are hoping they can get President Biden's Build Back Better bill passed by Christmas, and its climate provisions are of the major aspects at issue as negotiations continue in Congress.

All day we've been talking to lawmakers working on this legislation, as well as people who see these policies as directly impacting them. So let's start with Congresswoman Kathy Castor. She chairs the House Select Committee on the climate crisis. So good to see you, Congresswoman Castor.

REP. KATHY CASTOR (D-FL): Thank you, Fredricka. And let me start off by saying my heart goes out to the families and communities impacted by these devastating tornados and storms. We've thinking about them, and I trust that the federal government will be there to support them in the days ahead.

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much. It is hard to believe what we are seeing today, just hours after the string of storms went through. So you have been a strong advocate for this legislation. Why must the climate piece of this bill remain in it?

CASTOR: Well, the Build Back Better, when you combine it with the bipartisan infrastructure law that was passed, is absolutely vital to lowering costs for families, especially the cost of energy, and addressing these climate-fueled disasters. The tornados, what scientists tell us are that higher temperatures, more moisture in the atmosphere, create the conditions that make these extreme weather events more frequent. Look at last summer. One in three Americans were touched by a climate-fueled catastrophe, whether that was hurricane Ida or wildfires, floods and droughts.

So the good news is we have a plan through the Build Back Better act to lower costs through clean energy. Clean energy is cheaper energy, whether you're talking about solar and wind-power. That's now less expensive than coal and oil. And then ensuring that families across the country have the electric vehicles of the future, those EVs, those cars and trucks that will help us lower our greenhouse gas pollution as well.

WHITFIELD: Have you personally had a chance to speak to Senator Joe Manchin about his reservations about the climate portions of this bill?

CASTOR: No, unfortunately a lot of the negotiation happens in the press. But I've certainly been in touch with a lot of the -- many of the senators that are talking with senator Manchin. And of course President Biden is interacting with Senator Manchin every day, I believe.

WHITFIELD: Do you see that Senator Manchin might end up seeing your point of view?

CASTOR: I certainly hope so. We've got to lower costs on families across the country and businesses. And clean energy is the pathway to doing that, especially in rural communities. A lot of the electric vehicles, the cars and trucks that we're all going to be driving, if you live in West Virginia or rural America, you're traveling longer distances.

Right now, if you're in an electric car, you're bypassing those higher gas prices. And this is going to be very important to lowering pollution that is driving these very costly extreme weather events. We're all in this together, and it's really time now -- frankly, we're running out of time to meet our carbon pollution goals, the climate change goals set out by President Biden.

WHITFIELD: You represent the Tampa area, Florida, and you're no stranger to the impacts of climate change, hurricanes, and even other severe weather patterns. How have they impacted you, your constituents?

[14:40:00]

CASTOR: Well, Fredricka, you know very well Florida in the summer now is extremely hot. Just the last year we've set all-time temperature records. That makes it very difficult to work outside and think about our economy is based on tourism. We have to keep the tourists coming to visit. And if it's that hot outside, that really puts our whole economy at risk.

But Florida is not the only place setting these records. So what scientists tell us is that we really do not have much longer to reduce carbon pollution that's driving all of these very expensive catastrophes. That's why Build Back Better is central, because that's the clean energy piece that helps lower costs for families through more energy efficient appliances, the heat pumps, the electric vehicles, and then making our electric grid more resilient, too, that I'm afraid here with these tornadoes we're going to have significant needs to build back the electric grid. And it must be more resilient. That's another way that we're going to save folks costs down the road.

WHITFIELD: Congresswoman Kathy Castor, thank you so much for your time. I appreciate it.

CASTOR: Thank you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: We're going to talk further about this now with Jesse Alexander, who has seen the regularity of these events in California. He's the fire chief in Yuba City, and he's joining us there right now. Chief Alexander, so good to see you.

JESSE ALEXANDER, CHIEF, YUBA CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT: Thank you for having me.

WHITFIELD: So your crews have been on the front lines of some of the most destructive California wildfires in history. They are bigger, more destructive, more frequent, even. How has that impacted you and your department?

ALEXANDER: When you get these types of fires, they're so severe and they last for such long periods of time, you get a combination of a physical and a mental toll that is taken on the firefighters. So we've gone from a five to six-month burning cycle to closer to an 11 to 12- month burning cycle. And not only does fatigue play into account when you're dealing with that on the line, but some of the devastation and destruction, it has an emotional toll that firefighters are human. They can't see that type of destruction without having the consequences of PTSD aspects.

And we truly don't know at this time what the long-term and short-term effects of the type of smoke that these firefighters are breathing, compared to years past when there was more vegetation smoke. Now I'll use the example of the campfire, you're getting 18,000 homes that are burning. That's a completely different smoke, toxic smoke that they're inhaling.

WHITFIELD: And it's hard to overstate what's happening -- 11 of the 15 most destructive fires in your state's history have come in the last five years alone. And these are typically considered career fires, basically as a firefighter you would see one once in your career. But that has not been the case anymore.

ALEXANDER: That's correct. I've got 22 years of experience in the fire service, and the first half of my career you were seeing maybe one of these events, maybe every five to seven years. In 2017 I went on the Thomas fire where I thought at the time it was the largest wildlife fire in California's history. I thought that would be the pinnacle of probably my career. That was quickly elapsed by -- it's now the eighth largest fire in California history, and that was just less than five years ago.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Hurricanes, flooding, fires, droughts, and then today we've seen these deadly tornadoes across six states in the middle of December. We know there is a kind of brotherhood among first responders who serve in the wake of these extreme weather events to keep communities safe. Do you have any thoughts for those first responders who are trying to assess the damage now in six states just since this morning?

ALEXANDER: Well, our hearts go out to them, because even though we don't have those type of tornadoes here in California, unfortunately we are familiar with the devastation of communities due to wildlife fires and other natural hazards. And so as a result, we're familiar with that. We know the trauma and the despair that sometimes can go along with that. So our hearts go out to those, and just hope that everybody is trying to stay as safe as possible.

WHITFIELD: And then what is the best way then, overall, to kind of convey the urgency when it comes to battling the kind of fires that you have been enduring?

ALEXANDER: Well, the type of fires that we're starting to see, just the severity and the extent of them, you're seeing fire behavior that you're just not familiar with. I'll use the example of the campfire. When you're having fire progress over seven miles in an hour, or burning a football field and a half every second, those are just not the type of fire conditions we're used to experiencing until the last few years.

[14:45:01]

And I'm not a scientist or a climatologist, I just can tell you what we see out on the front lines, and it is alarming. And you have concerns when you're sending your firefighters out there. You want to protect those communities, but sometimes these fire conditions become quite extreme, such as fire tornadoes or just the absolute fast rapid fire growth.

WHITFIELD: Incredible. Well, all the best to you and all of your colleagues as you endure these extreme situations. Really appreciate your time, Chief Jesse Alexander. Thanks so much.

ALEXANDER: Thank you. Take care.

WHITFIELD: After the break, we'll continue to cover the deadly storm system and the devastation it left behind in the Midwest and southeastern U.S. Stay with us.

But first, a tragic accident didn't stop this college lacrosse star from returning to the field. In today's "The Human Factor," meet this track star and paralympic champion.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

NOELLE LAMBERT, PARALYMPIAN: Lacrosse, it was just something that just spoke to me, that came really natural. To be able to play a collegiate sport, that was always my biggest dream growing up. The summer following my freshman year I was involved in a moped accident that caused me to lose my left leg above the knee. I absolutely thought that my sports career was over. I thought that I was never going to be able to walk again, let alone run.

I had to learn to basically do everything over again. I probably fell about 50 times in that first practice. My first game back playing and I actually scored a goal. Someone from the U.S. Paralympic Track and Field world reached out to me, asking if I've ever thought about pursuing the sport of track and field. In my first track meet I hit the qualifying to be on the national team, but I also beat the reigning national champion. I was like, I'm going to compete in Tokyo.

I have been running the 100 meter for about two years. I actually made the Paralympic Games for Team USA.

I started the Born to Run Foundation in 2018. Insurance will only cover your everyday walking prosthetic. They will not cover a running blade. We actually made our first donation to a little three-year-old boy. The biggest thing that I want to portray to others is I want you to live the life that you want to live. If you have people believing in you and love you so much where they want to see your dreams come true, 100 percent I promise you, it will.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:52:00]

WHITFIELD: All right, a White House official tells CNN that President Biden will deliver remarks on the devastation from severe storms across six states. He has been briefed by FEMA and has spoken with governors from across the region.

In Bowling Green, Kentucky, reporter Lindsey Nance at affiliate WSMV had a closer look at the devastation.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

LINDSEY NANCE, REPORTER, WSMV: We are about 15 minutes west of Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green on Russellville Road. And a lot of people who live in this area are telling me this is the hardest hit neighborhood, and that's apparent. The National Weather Service did just confirm about 30 minutes ago out of Louisville that 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 where you saw me, and you can barely make your way through all of this rubble and damage. You can see this car over here completely on top of its side, and then it looks like the roof of this home was just blown off altogether.

And now, we have been walking around the neighborhood. We've seen some families hugging, some families just sitting on top of their roof in disbelief of what is even going on. They can't go back into their homes to get everything. And then if I take you down this way, this is the worst of the damage that I have seen so far. It is just an incredible amount of debris. We have chunks of wood just laying there, and then even cars that have toppled into that little valley in between this massive neighborhood.

Now, keep in mind a lot of the families have been without homes since about 1:00 this morning. They told me this storm was so loud when it came through that they actually thought it was gunshots being fired in the area, and it was just absolutely terrifying and traumatic for all of them. Right now, crews are trying to work through the rubble. We have seen

the police, we've seen emergency crews, we've even seen fatal teams out here. And 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.

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WHITFIELD: In Edwardsville, Illinois, an Amazon warehouse partially collapsed overnight in the severe weather.

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RHYAN HENSON, KSDK REPORTER: Well, it is a search and rescue mission here, as well. And I will step out of the way to give folks a better idea of what exactly they are working with out here. So that's the Amazon facility. And you see that wall right there that is no more. It is about the length of a football field, and the winds ripped off the roof here. It's still pretty windy right now, but the storms have since moved on out of our area.

We are about 20 miles outside of St. Louis, Missouri, here. So as you kind of take a closer look, we know there have been at least two confirmed dead here overnight as the search and rescue efforts continue. Thirty people were taken away and rescued safely and they're back with loved ones right now. One person was injured pretty badly. They were flown to an area hospital in St. Louis to get further treatment. So it's still very much an active situation, active scene right here.

And we know this facility loads up these Amazon trucks so they can be out delivered to folks that make their deliveries who ordered their items here. So there is not too much product inside, that's according to one worker that we have already spoken with this morning.

[14:55:02]

But there were people inside of the building, and the search and rescue crews are still searching for folks inside of the building. We have spoken with first responders who say that this is an effort that could last several days. The Edwardsville, mayor of Edwardsville, says the governor of Illinois has already reached out to them, offering state support. The mayor says thoughts and prayers as the search efforts continues to reunite loved ones.

I'll send it back to the studio, to you guys.

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WHITFIELD: Rhyan Henson, thanks so much for that report.

And thank you so much for being with us today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. We have so much more straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM with Phil Mattingly in a moment.

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