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Massive Tornado Traveled 250-Plus Miles Across Four States; Biden Calls Loss Of Life In Storms "An Unimaginable Tragedy"; Kentucky Governor Speaks On Deadly Tornado Outbreak; Biden Speaks After Deadly Tornado Outbreak In Six States; Mayfield, KY, Store Owner Describes Tornado Destruction; Storm Chaser, Michael Gordon, Describes Tornado Damage In Mayfield, KY; Tornado On Ground 220 Miles During An Unusual Tornado Season. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired December 11, 2021 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:12]

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN HOST: You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Phil Mattingly in for Jim Acosta. And we are following breaking news.

A massive tornado outbreak, devastating towns across six states. More than 70 people are feared dead. Many others are missing in the rubble that seems to stretch endlessly. Especially here.

What you're looking at now on your screen, in Mayfield, Kentucky. The catastrophic tornado has left it virtually unrecognizable. In this site, right now, is priority number one for emergency services on the ground in the town. At least 40 people are still unaccounted for in what's left of a flattened candle factory. Crews saved one woman overnight after she sent out a desperate call for help on Facebook live.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KYANNA PARSONS-PEREZ, WOMAN TRAPPED IN CANDLE FACTORY, MAYFIELD, KENTUCKY: We are trapped. Please, y'all, get us some help. We're at the candle factory in Mayfield. Please. Please.

Y'all. Please send us some help. Somebody please send us some help. We are trapped. The wall is stuck on me. Nobody can get to us. Y'all. Please. We can't move. Calm down. Please y'all. Pray for us.

Just get somebody to come and help us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: That's Mayfield, Kentucky, which we'll get back to in a minute, but there's also Edwardsville, Illinois, where rescuers are searching for workers at an Amazon warehouse that partially collapsed killing at least two people.

And in Monette, Arkansas, 20 people were pulled free after the storm hitting nursing home. One resident there died. At a widespread destruction could be partly due to this. At least one long track tornado traveled as much as more than 200 miles. Across multiple states, according to the National Weather Service. And this video shows a tornado that appears to have touched down on that same path.

Now, federal resources are heading to these hard-hit areas. We're expecting to hear remarks from President Biden likely within this hour.

Let's go now to Mayfield, Kentucky, where CNN's Nadia Romero has been on the scene.

And Nadia, what's the latest on these furious rescue efforts?

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Well, now we can see just how many crews have shown up from all across the state. Different cities and counties trying to make their way here to help the search and rescue efforts that have been ongoing since the overnight hours.

Just to give you an idea, we are set up right next to a tractor trailer supply storage on John Deere supplier that has been right next to the candle factory for many years now. This is some of the damage and debris that those first responders are trying to move out of the way just to get a better look at the rubble.

And if you come over here behind me, you can see that there are plenty of search and rescue crews that have shown up within just the last hours, including the National Guard.

Now, remember, the governor of Kentucky said that he would be calling out the National Guard, having a state emergency. We're also waiting on word from President Biden about those federal resources making their way here.

What's something to remember though is that we haven't had anyone pulled out of that rubble since about 3:00 this morning. That's when the coroner says they last found a survivor. For the 14 hours or 13 hours that have been gone by, they've only been recovering people who did not survive the storm.

Listen to the county coroner talk about what he's seeing on the ground here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRAD JONES, GRAVES COUNTY, KENTUCKY CORONER: This is just something, it's just, it just blows my mind. It's just, it's hard to take. And something you just don't plan on ever seeing in your community where there's like 40 that has not been accounted for. Whether they're in there or not or made it home, but some of the staff and everything I guess in the office department said there's 40 that they can't, you know, account for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMERO: So, you could hear some of the information that the coroner wanted to share. Some of it he's obviously holding back. We want to get you over to a presser now that's happening. Phil?

MATTINGLY: All right. Nadia Romero, thanks so much.

Right now, we're going to turn over to Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear with the latest updates.

GOV. ANDY BESHEAR (D-KY): Most devastating, most deadly tornado event in Kentucky's history. I believe that by the end of today or tomorrow, we will be north of at least 70 lives lost here in Kentucky. I think we will have lost more than 100 people and I think it could rise significantly in those numbers.

[16:05:15]

About 1:00 this morning, I was at the State Emergency Operation Center hearing the reports coming in live. Places like my parents' hometown, Dawson Springs, which I just came from, and how hard it was hit.

Hearing about families trapped in a basement and actually thinking they're lucky as long as we can get to them based on what happened from so many other families.

Hearing about the amazing efforts of our first responders, so many in this room. We thank you every day. We absolutely thank you today. Thank you so much for what you've done for our people over these last hours. I know you haven't slept. I know what that feels like. I know the efforts that you've put in and I know when you were out there especially in the first part of it, it was incredibly dangerous to you.

We have seen people come together from all over the state. All over the country. Federal partners like ATF. We had the Coast Guard down in Mayfield. And then we are seeing people come in from other states and other regions. I just want everybody to know that you are not alone.

Today, Kentucky is absolutely united. We're united with our people. We're united to find and rescue as many as possible. We are united to grieve. With I think over 100 families that will have lost individuals and we are united to be here for those families and this and every other impacted community. Not just today and this week, but in the coming years so that we rebuild and get those families back on their feet.

The devastation is -- is unlike anything I have seen in my life and I have trouble putting it into words. When I was safe to travel this morning, I flew to Mayfield. My first stop was that candle factory. 110 people working in it at the time the storm hit. They rescued 40. There's at least 15 feet of metal with cars on top of it. Barrels of corrosive chemicals that are there. It will be a miracle if anybody else is found alive.

Downtown, completely devastated. From there, my dad's hometown of Dawson Springs. Population, oh, 2700. They're going lose a whole lot of people. One block from my grandparents' house. There's no house standing. There's no house standing, and we don't know where all those people are. This was four different tornadoes and I'm told we're actually going to see a little bit more on that, that hit us. Including one that touched down in Arkansas and then stayed on the ground for 227 straight miles, which we believe is likely the longest in U.S. history.

Folks, 200 of those miles were in Kentucky. We are ground zero and I know this community is hit, has been hit really hard. We are with you. The whole state is with you.

It's about just before midnight last night that we signed -- I signed the state of emergency. That allowed us to call up the National Guard. Now hundreds deploying all over Kentucky to help. To help going door to door. To see if we can find people. To help clearing the roadways and helping law enforcement in some towns that aren't going to have any power tonight.

We've been able to get our transportation cabinet with all of our heavy trucks out on the roads clearing them off because it's hard to reach people in need when the roads are unpassable. Our division of forestry is out there helping with that as well. Finding any and everything we can do including bringing some of the largest generators we've ever seen to some of these communities where they can power a school, a hospital. Where it is needed.

Since our last stop, there are two new announcements at this point in the day.

First, the president has signed the federal emergency disaster declaration. For those who do this work, that rarely happens in the midst of a disaster. It shows how bad it is.

[16:10:00]

It opens us up to significantly more resources and things like almost immediate reimbursement for a lot of the things we're doing, which is going to help our cities and our counties to - to really do even more.

I've talked today directly to the president twice. The head of Homeland Security, the secretary, and as well as the director of FEMA, who's going to be in Kentucky tomorrow. They have all pledged whatever we need, and I plan to ask. So, make sure you communicate those needs to us and we'll either satisfy them or we will go out and get them.

It's getting close to night. It's getting cold. It's going to be a tough night for a lot of people across Kentucky.

The second new announcement is people have been asking all day, how can we help. We've been telling them two things, with the third coming. The first we said is if you are in a community that has been hit and hit hard and you're safe and you have power, stay off the roads.

Let our first responders like the ones that we have here, get to everybody. Don't go to some of these areas because you want to see it. We need to make sure that those who do this work that are so good at it can do it at the fastest possible speed. Second, give blood. We are already pretty short with COVID out there and have been pushing. We're going to have - we got a lot of deaths. We're also going to have a lot of injuries.

But the third is we have now been able to set up a single fund connected with the state that people who want to help in Kentucky or outside of it, can get to. That is solely dedicated to helping the on the ground efforts going on right now and the relief efforts that these families are going to need to rebuild. That is a Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund. It is now live at teamwkyrelieffund.ky.gov. I'll do it again. Teamwkyrelieffund.ky.gov.

We've been hearing from folks, again, all around the country. I've heard from some folks from outside the country that run great companies inside of Kentucky. They are mourning for this and other communities.

With that, we're going to have a number of folks give us updates on where we are right now. I think we're first turning it over to the mayor to talk about specifically what we're seeing here. Let me say I know - I know that lives lost are going to be in double digits.

They're going to be in multiple counties. I know Muhlenberg. I know Hopkins. Here. Certainly Graves. We believe in Marshall. It's tough. But also, your folks have done incredible work. On top of it since the very beginning and I'm really proud of the response here in Warren County.

Mayor?

Thank you, Governor.

MAYOR TODD ALCOTT, BLOWLING GREEN, KENTUCKY: Bowling Green citizens for taking a knee at this moment. We're in an emergency state and we appreciate what the governor and what the president has already declared for us.

Our community wants to help. And the best way to help is just like the governor stated, but there's another way.

I talked to our local Red Cross. They are set up right now at South Warren High School. Many, many people have already given in kind donations to the Red Cross at South Central High School. What they've told me is they appreciate it, but they've asked to hold off on in- kind donations.

What we need right now is because that is a place where our personnel, our people, are going for shelter tonight. They already have about 15 personnel that are there this evening. We know that more are coming. And so, they need to focus their energy towards taking care of those that need immediate shelter.

So, if you need immediate shelter, please contact through our 911, and ask for assistance in getting to South Warren if you need to get there because it is getting colder. Light is about to give up on us. And we need people to be able to get in. MATTINGLY: You've been listening to Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear giving an update on the deadly tornadoes in the state. I want to take you to Wilmington, Delaware now where President Biden is speaking.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Devastating tornadoes had moved across several states in the center of the United States including - touching down across 227 miles of Kentucky alone.

I'm monitoring the situation very closely since early this morning. This is likely to be one of the largest tornado outbreaks in our history.

[16:15:00]

Earlier today, I called the governors of the states that may have experienced severe impacts of the storm, including Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, as well as Tennessee. And also spoke with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

Governor Beshear and I started off the morning together and he said as I was watching on television while talking to him like all of you have, and his comment was it looks like a war zone, but worse. Jill and I pray -- and I sincerely mean this -- pray for those who have lost loved ones and for those who are uncertain of the fate of their loved ones. And the debris that you see scattered all over the hurricane's path.

They lost their homes. They lost their businesses. And it's a tragedy. It's a tragedy. And we still don't know how many lives are lost and the full extent of the damage.

But I want to emphasize what I told all the governors. The federal government will do everything, everything it can possibly do to help.

I've spoken several times today with the head of FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as well as the director of FEMA, who's already been deployed, have already deployed emergency response personnel to these states, search and rescue teams, water and other supplies.

And FEMA's on the ground working with each of the states to assess the damages and focus on federal support where it is needed most and how we can get there most rapidly.

I also and I apparently it has just been announced, but I also approved the emergency declaration that was requested a couple of hours ago by Governor Beshear of Kentucky. That's going to accelerate federal emergency assistance for Kentucky right now when it's urgently needed.

And I stand ready to do the same for the governors of the other states and I made it clear to them, if they request emergency declarations.

I've also requested that FEMA offer additional federal resources including help with temporary housing where homes have been wiped out or too badly damaged to live in. And I also asked FEMA director to let the states know what they may not be aware of what they might be entitled to because they don't necessarily know all that's available from the federal end.

We're going to continue to receive -- I personally am receiving regular updates and my staff is continuing to reach out to the mayors, the county officials and other local leaders in these states affected by the tornado. And my heart goes out. I was told that early this morning, that one of the -- the equivalent of a county executive, one of the folks in Kentucky was lost in this tornado.

I want folks in all these states to know we're going to get through this. We're going to get through this together and the federal government is not going to walk away. This is one of those times when we aren't Democrats or Republicans. Sounds like hyperbole, but it's real.

We're all Americans. We stand together as the United States of America. And so, I say to all the victims, you're in our prayers and all those first responders, emergency personnel and everyone helping their fellow Americans that this is the right thing to do at the right time and we're going to get through this.

And I'd be happy to take a question or two if you have any about this.

QUESTION: Mr. President, does this say anything to you about climate change? Conclude that these storms and (INAUDIBLE) has to do with climate change?

BIDEN: Well, all that I know is that the intensity of the weather across the board has some impact as a consequence of the warming of the planet and the climate change. The specific impact on these specific storms, I can't say at this point. I'm going to be asking the EPA and others to take a look at that. But the fact is that we all know everything is more intense when the climate is warming. Everything. And obviously it has some impact here, but I can't give you a quantitative read on that.

QUESTION: Mr. President, do you have any plans to visit any of the affected areas this week?

BIDEN: Yes, I do. I spoke with -- I started off this morning with the governor of Kentucky and offered to, I said I'll be happy to come, but I don't want to be in the way. When a president shows up, he shows up with an awful lot of personnel. An awful lot of vehicles. An awful lot of, we can get in the way unintentionally.

And so, what I'm working with the governor of Kentucky and others who may want me to be there, as I made -- to make sure that we're value added at the time and we're not going to get in the way of the rescue and recovery. But I will - I do plan on going.

QUESTION: Are you going to ask Commerce to approve any other disaster relief money?

BIDEN: Well, we'll see. Whatever is needed I'm going to ask for. If we don't already have the where with all to take care of it, I'm going to ask for it. This is the United States of America. Our citizens are badly, badly hurt and they're scared to death right now in terms of all those folks who they can't figure where they are. Where is my son? Where is my daughter, my husband, my wife, my mom, my dad? It's devastating.

[16:20:00]

Yes, you have a question, sir.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) -- for the federal government coordinating direct on the ground response going to be (INAUDIBLE) National Guard or federal troops that can help?

BIDEN: The answer is yes, if in fact the states conclude they need it. And so, the National Guard has been called out on one state, and -- but whatever is needed that's within the authority of the president of the United States and the federal government to provide that help. And we're going to provide whatever is needed.

I think we've demonstrated since we've been elected, that every major national disaster, we have been there early, often, and stayed until we got it finished. And that's what we're going to do here. But again, I think what I've found is I've found that these disaster areas in other circumstances whether it's hurricane in Louisiana or the - or gigantic flooding in the northeast or the wildfires in the west, it's real anxiety right now.

It's all those poor people are wondering, where is my loved one? Where are they? Are they going to be OK? And I don't think it's - I don't think it's possible to exaggerate the extent of the fear, the concern. And we have a lot of people that are going in doing rescue, running machines, bulldozers, forklifts and the like.

And the way in which I watched it down in when the building collapsed in Florida. I watched how it takes a price on toll on them. God, am I going to - am I going to lose something, going to move something that's going to fix something.

And so that's what I - I just -- my heart aches for those people right now. Including the rescuers. Including the burden on them and what they worry about. That's what they talked to me about in Florida. That's what they talked to me about afterwards.

And so, I - I just think that we just have to keep at it. We have to keep focused. And this is going to be a focus of my attention until we get this finished.

QUESTION: Mr. President, do you have a message to the victims and their families? And can you talk about how governments can be better prepared for such disasters in the future?

BIDEN: Well, quite frankly, I think we're at prepared as any government has ever been for dealing with the disasters. Now the question is, one of the questions that's going to be raised, I'm confident, is what warning was there and was it strong enough and was it heeded. That's a question is going to -- I assume is going to be part of the discussion in the states as well as - as national.

Because look, as usual, you ask always the best question and you ask me about whether or not we were going to be able to - what we're going to do about it. How are we going to handle this? And part of it is acknowledging that the likelihood of fewer weather catastrophes. Absolutely, continued movement on dealing with global warming. It's just not going to happen. Not going to happen.

Like I said, we didn't think - and I think the best example for me has been -- what struck me the most, we always had wildfires. But who in God's name thought we'd see this calendar year more territory burned to the ground, every tree, every home, every road, you know, larger than the state of New Jersey, from the Hudson River down to Cape May?

So, we have to act, but the first and urgent piece here is we have to save anyone who's still alive. We have to care for them if we can get them to hospitals. And we have to take care of all those families.

I mean, look, I know you're all - you're all pros. Asking the questions.

Imagine if you're home to the path, what do you go home to? Why do you worry about me? Everything is gone from that - from that baptismal photograph to the wedding picture to the picture of your oldest daughter in a ballet.

I mean, it's profound. It's just profound. And it's -- but I promise you, whatever is needed, whatever is needed, the federal government is going to find a way to supply it.

Thank you all so very, very much. Thank you.

QUESTION: What made you decide to take U.S. ground combat troops off the table when it comes to Ukraine?

BIDEN: They never were on the table. And are you ready to send American troops into war in going to Ukraine to fight Russians on the battlefield.

Look, here's the deal. I've made it absolutely clear to President Putin, it's the last thing I'll say. That if he moves on Ukraine, the economic consequences for his economy are going to be devastating. Devastating. Number one.

[16:25:08]

Number two. We will find it required that we'll have to send more American and NATO troops into the eastern flank, the B9, all those NATO countries where we have a sacred obligation to defend them against any attack by Russia.

And number three, the impact of all of that on Russia and its attitude the rest of the world's view of Russia would change markedly. He'll pay a terrible price. And so, it's -- and we are going to continue to provide for and we have and continue to provide for the defense capacities for the Ukrainian people. Thank you so much.

MATTINGLY: You've been listening to President Biden speaking about the outbreak of deadly tornadoes overnight that has likely left more than 70 people dead.

CNN's Arlette Saenz joins me now from the White House.

And Arlette, one of the things the president said over and over again, three words, whatever is needed, which I think has always been his administration's posture when it comes to federal disaster of response. What kind of assistance do we see the federal government providing at this point?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, you're right, Phil. President Biden wanted to make clear in this speech and his conversations with these governors that the federal government will be providing whatever assistance they request and need in order to deal with the aftermath of these storms.

Now the president has been briefed by his FEMA team and has directed them to surge federal resources to the area. That includes search and rescue teams. Also supplies like water and other things that people are going to need in these points of recovery.

The president also notably said that he asked for additional help when it comes to temporary housing for those families who have now been displaced after they've seen their homes bulldozed, belongings strewn across fields due to these tornadoes.

Now, in addition to this federal assistance, the president also expressed his sympathy and condolences to those who have been affected. He specifically said that his heart aches for them. Not just for the people who know they have lost loved ones, but also for those who are still learning or waiting to learn of what has happened to their loved ones who are currently missing.

He also said he's thinking of the rescuers. The first responders who are there working with these families. So often, President Biden has assumed this role of comforter in chief. Something that comes naturally to him given his own experience with tragedy and loss and he wanted to relay that to the communities who are reeling after these devastating storms.

Now the president also talked a bit about climate change. He said that yes, climate change has contributed to the severity of weather events, but when it comes to this specific outbreak of tornadoes, which he said is likely to be the largest tornado outbreak in U.S. history, the president said he's not quite sure what impact climate change had there. He's going to ask his EPA to conduct a review to analyze whether or how much of an impact climate change had on the severity of this tornado outbreak.

But certainly, the president in these remarks from Wilmington, Delaware, trying to make clear that he's going to remain in contact with those local officials. That he's ready to offer any assistance that they request and ask, the federal government to send there a way.

And he also said he will be traveling to the region once he knows that his appearance, his time there won't be a strain on resources. He wants to go directly into those communities to see the impact and offer words of comfort as well. Phil?

MATTINGLY: Yeah. In absolute certainty said Governor Andy Beshear we heard from right before the president told the president earlier today, it looks like a war zone, but worse.

Arlette Saenz, great reporting as always. Thank you so much from the White House.

Coming up next. The severe storms devastating communities as the tornadoes leveled homes and businesses. A store owner whose shop was destroyed by the storms joins me. Coming up next on NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:33:07]

MATTINGLY: This is Mayfield, Kentucky, one of the places by far hardest hit by the overnight tornadoes. Buildings levelled. The entire community is completely devastated.

On the phone with me now is Leisha Doran. Her store in Mayfield, Kentucky, was pretty much destroyed by those storms.

Leisha, I just want to start, first off, I'm so sorry. We're looking at pictures of your Good News Shoppe now before and after last night.

Can you walk me through your personal experience last night and what you saw when you arrived at your store this morning?

LEISHA DORAN, OWNER, GOOD NEWS SHOPPE, MAYFIELD, KENTUCKY (via telephone): Sure. Yes, well, yesterday, we started out our day. It was actually really fun. We were getting into the holiday season. Everybody was so happy. We were singing and laughing and having a good time.

Then we ended the day and it was just a good day. We said we'll see you tomorrow. Went home.

And then it started getting bad. We thought it wasn't going to be too bad. And then the power went out where I was and I couldn't get cell service and couldn't get Facebook to check what was going on.

I finally was able to get a text and it said that the bank here and courthouse has been destroyed. And I knew then that my store was probably destroyed, too. Because mine was right next door.

And then this morning, when I came, it was just really sad to see it. It's been around for 42 years so it was really sad to come and see that it had pretty much fallen down.

We had just had a great day on Friday and then, this morning, it's gone.

MATTINGLY: I can't even imagine.

You know, you talk about the community and we've talked today a number of people in the Mayfield community.

[16:35:03]

How is the community right now? How are the people you've been talking to? What's the sense of things amidst this overarching devastation?

DORAN: I think a lot of people are really in shock, really. Nobody really knows what to say. I think what I keep hearing is we just have no words. It's just really sad.

And we've been really blessed in that, this year, even with everything that's gone on with the store, but you know, it's just the same. And there are so many people right now that have really lost loved ones especially in our area. And I just -- my heart goes out to all of them.

I think that's the hardest part right now is things can be replaceable, but your family, your friends, they can't be. So that's been a really hard part today.

MATTINGLY: I guess one of the things we really want to know is, you're still kind of getting your head around what's transpired in the last 24 hours.

But what do you need right now? Things, when you talk to others in the community, this is the thing or things that we have to have if we can get help.

DORAN: Really, support. Just knowing that people in the community care. Just help with you know, water, and making sure that everybody has what they need. They are out of power. We, I think that's been an issue.

And in general, just knowing that everybody's here. And that the community is going to get together and really show their support for each other and be there for each other.

MATTINGLY: No question about it.

We're certainly thinking about you and praying for your guys there.

Please let us know if there are specific things you guys need. Don't hesitate to reach out. We'd be very happy to get the message out at this point. And again, very sorry about your store, what the community's going through.

But thank you very much for joining.

DORAN: Thank you.

MATTINGLY: Our breaking news coverage of the deadly tornado outbreak in the southeast and Midwest continues after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:41:45]

MATTINGLY: Breaking news into CNN. We just learned moments ago from Kentucky's governor, Andy Beshear, that 40 people were rescued from the candle factory in Mayfield, Kentucky, but 40 are still unaccounted for.

The governor said, quote, "It will be a miracle if anyone else is found alive."

He said a total of 110 people were working in the factory when the storm hit. He's calling it the worst, most-devastating tornado event in Kentucky's history.

I want to bring in storm chaser, Michael Gordon, who captured these drone pictures of some of that catastrophic damage across much of Mayfield, Kentucky.

Michael Gordon, you're with me now. Here's my question. For a lot of us, we don't know what we're comparing things to. Right.

You do this for a living. You see tornadoes. What was your reaction when you saw this and kind of how it moved over the course of the hours last night?

MICHAEL GORDON, STORM CHASER: The damage here is catastrophic. Again, like everyone is saying, is un-describable. It -- the tornado grew from Arkansas to Mayfield and on.

And I believe that it traveled at a very fast speed as well. When I intercepted the tornado on I-55, it was moving at a very fast pace. It was very violent. It has it had a lot of power.

And to see what it did up here, I don't even think -- here in Mayfield, I don't even think it was at that level when I intercepted it. So it grew on its way north.

This -- the damage here is unbelievable. There -- going into -- I believe I arrived in Mayfield around 10:30 last night, I believe. I was not here when the tornado actually hit.

But seeing the first responders on scene immediately, especially at the candle factory. I know that's been one of their big priorities.

Another big priority that I see now that everyone heard with the governor is the roads and driving up and down. They are now, the National Guard came in. They are putting up roadblocks. They are maintaining these roads with personnel to help speed up this -- the process.

And I see a lot less people out here than I did six hours ago. Six hours ago, I had lines of cars. So, yes, it's getting a lot colder.

[16:45:00]

And I think it's going to be a something -- like I say, it's un- describable.

And I pray for all those families out there. The first responders out there, the volunteers.

This community has really came together. I have noticed that.

MATTINGLY: Yes. I was watching earlier this morning. Watch the Response obviously, with first responders and the work they've been doing.

But I guess the other thing, what's the most difficult thing you've seen over the course of the last 15, 16 hours since you've been on the ground there, particularly as the sun came up and we got a full sense of the devastation?

GORDON: It's just -- well, I haven't really seen any retrievals of any humans or bodies in any of the homes or buildings. I did see some, not physically seen, but them working on removing people from the candle factory. And that -- that was pretty heart wrenching.

I did notice that in a lot of the personnel that was assisting as well, they -- well, it's something, when you have to, you know, piece by piece, pick rubble off of somebody that's hurting and nobody wants to see that.

I think it just, they -- I --

MATTINGLY: I think we might have lost Michael Gordon there.

Just extraordinarily personal sense of what's happening on the ground. We appreciate both his work in giving people a view of the scale of devastation.

We can see it on the screen there from his drone footage, from the video of the tornado last night.

But also his personal view of the rescue efforts and the pain and emotion that those who are participating in those efforts have been going through, but also just the sheer devastation in the community.

Michael Gordon, thanks so much.

We're going to take a quick break. We'll be back in a moment.

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[16:52:01]

MATTINGLY: Moments ago, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear gave a stark prediction, saying he believes the death toll from the overnight storms and tornados will be over 100. Adding he thinks it can rise significantly.

I want to bring in CNN meteorologist, Chad Myers.

Chad, it's well into December. They're saying the tornado was on the ground for more than 220 miles. Not what we'd consider a normal tornado season. Am I wrong there?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No, you're not wrong. And Memphis, Tennessee, got up to 80 degrees yesterday. That's not a normal December day either.

Warm on one side of the jet stream, cold on the other side, behind the cold front.

Now, we get 23 tornados every month on average in December. This may break that number all together.

But most of those storms are small and they're down along the gulf coast. Certainly not into Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky. Obviously, May, June and July are the worth months.

But 100 tornado warnings were issued by weather service offices yesterday alone. And there's that long track tornado, likely on the ground the whole time. Not sure. We'll have to see if it skipped or not.

Sometimes we get a lot of storm reports. But it's the same storm, just in a different town. But the tornado never lifted.

Here we have an EF-1 in Branson west, in Missouri. Not that far away from St. Louis. Pontoon Beach, EF-3. These numbers now finally coming in.

We don't expect to get anything for the big numbers yet, the big tornados.

But an EF-3 was also very close to Bowling Green. In fact, damaging the Corvette plant that I went and visited even though it was COVID, couldn't go in, but I could see the cars outside and it was a beautiful facility. Now it's pretty much a wreck.

We'll see EF-3s, EF-4s, I think, likely. Maybe strong EF-4 or EF-5. The numbers don't matter. They truly don't matter at all when you get this kind of damage and it happens at night.

Yes, the warnings were out, but when you're asleep and you don't hear, and someone doesn't wake up. And we've seen the devastation of the storms.

Some of these homes were not survivable even if you did have a good, safe place. Certainly, a basement would have helped. But we'll have to see what happens here.

Still a chance, a slight risk of severe weather tonight, but we won't get anything significant. The models aren't coming together. The moisture, the heat, and the jet stream not all like it was yesterday. Not at all. So we're not going to have it overnight like we had overnight last

night. Just don't have all the ingredients in the right places -- Phil?

MATTINGLY: And we heard the governor say it's getting a lot colder there right now --

MYERS: Yes.

MATTINGLY: -- as rescuers are still at work.

Appreciate your reporting as always, sir.

Frustrated by the lack of news coverage about missing black people in the U.S., two sisters-in-law started a non-profit. Their story is this week's "IMPACT YOUR WORLD."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NATALIE WILSON, CO-FOUNDER, BLACK AND MISSING FOUNDATION: The Black and Missing Foundation was started because of a necessity.

There was a young lady by the name of Tameka Houston who went missing from my sister-in-law's hometown of Spartanburg, South Carolina.

[16:55:01]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When she disappeared, her family struggled to garner coverage. About six months later, Natalee Holloway disappeared. Her name and face because a household name.

WILSON: We decided to do some research to see if this was an issue affecting our community.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And 30 percent of the missing persons in the United States are people of color. That has increased to 40 percent. Yet we rarely see our people on the news.

WILSON: We help families from A through Z. And that includes creating flyers and social media posts as well as boots on the ground.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Since our inception in 2008, we have been able to bring closure to over 300 families.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was frantic when Kennedy was missing. To have an organization that hears your pain and can help and assist and not judge you is something that I think all families need.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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MATTINGLY: You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Phil Mattingly in Washington. Jim Acosta is off today.

[16:59:51] We are following breaking news. An urgent search for survivors is underway as a widespread tornado outbreak wrecked towns across six states and likely killed more than 70 people.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear is calling it one of the darkest days in his state's history.

President Biden has approved an federal emergency declaration.