(This is a developing story. It will be updated when deemed necessary) .
In the dead of Friday night, more than 30 tornadoes took a toll on multiple U.S. states, namely Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee and Kentucky, with Kentucky the hardest hit.
The storm has so far left at least 70 dead, with more than 40 people's whereabouts still unknown.
At this juncture, rescuers, canines and firefighting teams are leaving no stone unturned in their search for those unaccounted for and perhaps some survivors in the wake of what will go down as one of the most monstrous and violent tornadoes in U.S. history.
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A ruinous tornado cut a swathe through the middle part of the United States in the dead of Friday night, rendering the roofs of a candle factory and an Amazon warehouse toppled, a nursing home crushed, a running train derailed, and the entire Kentucky state in ruins.
Needless to say, Kentucky was the hardest hit, with 22 people confirmed dead as of Saturday afternoon.
The death toll, which could rise exponentially from the current 36 as rescuers work around the clock, includes six people in Illinois, where an Amazon facility was destroyed, four people in Tennessee, two in Arkansas, and two in Missouri.
Debris from buildings whose roofs caved in and shredded trees covered the ground in Mayfield, western Kentucky. Corrugated metal sheeting, toppled power lines and broken vehicles line the streets, with planes in airports affected completed destroyed.
As for buildings that withstood the storm, their windows and roofs were still blown off.
ANDY BESHEAR, Kentucky Governor: This event is the worst, most devastating, most deadly tornado 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.
Beshear did not mince words in his plea to those who are available to help to donate blood, saying the people of Kentucky will have to endure a harsh night.
All told, around 36 tornadoes wreaked havoc across 6 U.S. states.
In Arkansas, a nursing home was left in ruins, with 1 person dead and dozens injured.
Members of the National Weather Service have been mobilised to perform the official tornado survey to confirm if the outbreak was a continuous tornado or several tornadoes produced by the same storm.
Faced with a partly vitiated United States, the White House declared a state of emergency in Kentucky and ordered FEMA and other federal agencies to supplement state and local response efforts then and there.
JOE BIDEN, U.S. President: The Federal government will do everything, everything they can possibly do to help.
Broken homes and roads notwithstanding, the bonds between people still remain strong, as volunteers rushed to a kitchen near Mayfield to cook meals for the weary.
When the going gets tough, the tough get going. As time ticks away, in the critical hours and days ahead, the community, and the entire nation, will continue to work in harness with rescuers burning the candle at both ends to assist and console those who suffered great loss.
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