‘I’ve Got Towns That Are Gone’: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear Gives Heartbreaking Account of Deadly Storm That Ravaged His State

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) gave a horrific account of the devastation his state witnessed from the tornadoes that tore through the Midwest over the weekend.

Beshear spoke to CNN’s Jake Tapper on State of the Union, where he confirmed the deaths of 80 Kentuckians as he grimly acknowledged “that number is gonna exceed more than 100.”

“This is the deadliest tornado event we’ve ever had. I think it’s gonna be the longest and deadliest tornado event in U.S. history,” Beshear said. “I’ve got towns that are gone, that are just, gone. My dad’s hometown, half of it isn’t standing. It is hard to describe.”

The tornadoes ripped through 6 states on Saturday, though Beshear pointed out that most of the storm’s destructive path made its way through Kentucky. In describing the storm’s impact, Beshear turned to the rescue effort at the Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory, where many are feared dead after the building collapsed from the tornado.

It will be a miracle if we pull anybody else out of that…My understanding is that they did have a plan inside the facility, that we believe most of the workers got to what is supposed to be the safest place in the facility. But when you see the damage that this storm did, not just there, but across the area, I’m not sure there was a plan that would have worked. So we had about 110 Kentuckians, mainly residents of Mayfield that were working in that facility, about 40 of them have been rescued and I’m not sure we’re going to see another rescue. I pray for it. It would be an incredibly welcome miracle, but I think it’s been since 3:30 yesterday morning that we found a live person.

Watch above, via CNN.