US President Joe Biden, reaching out to the states affected by tornadoes, said that his administration will do ‘whatever is needed’ to help. The statement came after Kentucky governor Andy Beshear said that the death toll in the state might be in the upwards of 70. 

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“The federal government will do everything, everything it can possibly do to help. I promise you, whatever is needed, whatever is needed, the federal government is going to find a way to supply it,” Biden said during a press conference Saturday from Wilmington, Delaware.

The confirmed death toll across five states – Kentucky, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee and Illinois – stands at 30. Talking to the reporters, Beshear, however, said that the number of deaths could eventually exceed 100 across 10 or more counties.

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In Kentucky alone, 22 were confirmed dead by Saturday afternoon. Four people were killed in Tennessee; two in Arkansas, where a nursing home was destroyed; and one in both Missouri and Illinois, where an Amazon facility. 

Biden said he was praying for those who had lost, or who were uncertain about, their loved ones.

“The federal government will do everything it can possibly do to help. We’re going to get through this together,” he said. 

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He further added that FEMA teams would go to Kentucky on Sunday to offer additional resources. Emergency funds were also made available for the other affected states. 

Declaring a state of emergency in Kentucky, Beshear said, “It’s indescribable, unlike anything I’ve ever seen,” he said. “You see parts of industrial buildings, roofs, or sightings in trees, if trees are lucky enough to stand.”

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Disaster-aid and humanitarian groups are mobilising to help tornado victims and setting up dedicated fund for donations to support their efforts.

With inputs from the Associated Press