Severe storms that swept through the US states of Missouri, Kentucky and Virginia left more than 25 people dead, laying waste to local communities and cutting off electricity to nearly 200,000, authorities said on Saturday.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said on X at least 18 people had died in the storms on Friday night, while local officials in Missouri said another seven were dead there.
Two people were also killed by falling trees in Virginia, local media reported.
Photo: AFP
Jamie Burns, 38, who lives with her husband and son in a trailer home in the town of London, Kentucky, had to seek shelter in the basement of her sister’s brick house while the storm destroyed 100 to 200 houses in the area.
“Things that have been here longer than I have, things that have been here for 30-plus years are just flat,” Burns said in a phone interview, her voice quavering.
“It’s wild, because you’ll look at one area and it’s just smashed ... totally flattened, like, not there anymore,” she said.
Drone footage published by local media showed scenes of devastation in London, with houses leveled and reduced to splinters and tree trunks standing bare, completely shorn of branches.
Beshear added that more than 100,000 people have been left without power in the state, and five counties have declared a state of emergency.
Eastern Kentucky, an area historically known for its coal mines, is one of the poorest regions in the country.
“A lot of us live in manufactured homes that aren’t safe for tornado weather,” Burns said.
In Missouri, five people were killed in the major city of St Louis, in what authorities said was one of the worst storms in its history, and two in Scott County, the State Highway Patrol said in a statement.
More than 80,000 people were left without power and three shelters were opened in the area, the statement added.
More severe weather was forecast for last night and today.
Asked Saturday by a reporter whether it was the worst storm ever to hit St Louis, Mayor Cara Spencer replied: “I would describe this as one of the worst storms — absolutely. The devastation is truly heartbreaking.”
She said 38 people in the city were injured and about 5,000 buildings damaged.
While there were warnings ahead of the severe weather — Beshear had protectively declared a state of emergency on Friday — the death toll might raise questions about whether sharp cuts by the administration of US President Donald Trump have left US National Weather Service (NWS) forecasting teams dangerously understaffed.
An estimated 500 of the 4,200 NWS employees have been fired or taken early retirement this year, the Washington Post said.
The US saw the second-highest number of tornadoes on record last year with about 1,800, trailing only 2004, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
RSS