Deadly tornado leaves Kentucky town of Mayfield mourning and seeking survivors
MAYFIELD, Ky. — As a tornado passed over his Kentucky town of about 10,000 late Friday, the Rev. Wes Fowler huddled with his wife and three children — ages 12, 8 and 6 — in the basement of the First Baptist Church Mayfield.
“Ceiling tiles were moving up and down and dust filled the room. I basically got my family against a wall in the basement. I laid on top of them. Honestly, we didn’t know if we were going to make it for a few minutes there,” Fowler, 45, said Saturday, sobbing as he stood in the ruins of the church. “… In the moment, all I could think about was covering up my wife and my kids.”
At least 79 people were feared dead — most of them in Kentucky — after a series of tornadoes tore through the Midwest and Southeast overnight, according to state and local officials.
At a briefing Saturday, President Joe Biden said he had approved an emergency declaration for Kentucky, “and I stand ready to do the same for the governors of the other states.”
“This is likely to be
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