OHIO — Ohio Task Force 1 arrived in western Kentucky Monday morning around 9 a.m. after being activated for search and rescue efforts in the aftermath of deadly Friday night tornadoes.
The team was activated Sunday night as a Type III Urban Search & Rescue (USAR), which includes a full equipment cache with 45 search specialists and canine search teams.
The specific destination as to where OTF-1 is searching hasn’t been disclosed.
Several first responders, including those from other states like Indiana Task Force 1 and Tennessee Task Force 1, are still on the ground Monday morning searching for any survivors of Friday night’s catastrophic storms.
Tornadoes ripped through western Kentucky overnight Friday, heavily damaging Mayfield, Bowling Green and other communities. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Sunday during a news conference that at least 80 people died during the storms, and many more are feared dead.
“That number is going to exceed more than 100,” Beshear said, adding that at least four counties have death tolls in the “double digits.”
At least 300 National Guard members are searching, but Beshear said it’s hard with the amount of devastation in those areas.
“I’m really sorry,” Beshear said. “You’re not supposed to lose people like this, and to not know and not have the information has got to make it that much harder.”
Tornadoes also tore through parts of Arkansas, Illinois, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee, according to the National Weather Service, hitting a nursing home in Arkansas and an Amazon distribution center in Illinois. In Mayfield, Ky., a tornado completely leveled a candle factory.
President Joe Biden approved Gov. Beshear’s emergency declaration request, authorizing FEMA to provide measures for 16 counties in the commonwealth. Damage assessment teams are being deployed to Kentucky.
