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At least 70 feared dead in Kentucky as tornadoes rip through swaths of U.S.

More than 70 people are feared dead after a catastrophic series of tornadoes ripped through Kentucky and other states late Friday and early Saturday, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said.

“This is the most devastating, most deadly tornado event in Kentucky’s history,” Beshear said in a news conference Saturday afternoon. More than 181 guardsmen from the National Guard were activated early in the morning, a number that has gone up as requests for help continue to come in.

The governor estimates that the “death toll from this event is north of 70 Kentuckians and may end of exceeding 100 before the day is done,” he said.

“We will make it through this,” Beshar added. “We will rebuild, we are strong, resilient people.”

On Saturday afternoon, the White House approved Kentucky’s state of emergency and ordered federal assistance to supplement state and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from severe storms, straight-line winds, flooding, and tornadoes.

Read more at NBC News

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