Alex Goodman knew something horrendous was occurring outside, as her house convulsed from a tornado that tore through western Kentucky "like a "bomb," killing dozens and forever changing the face of her town.

"You could definitely feel the house vibrating. The sheer force of the wind and the rain was incredible," the 31-year-old Mayfield resident and mother of a newborn said.

Lucky to be alive after the chaos died down, Goodman and her husband climbed the stairs from their basement and opened the front door, coming face to face with catastrophe.

"It looks like a bomb has exploded in our community," Goodman told AFP Saturday, hours after the disaster.

Swathes of Kentucky and other states were devastated by a deadly tornado that laid waste to the Mayfield Consumer Products Candle Factory and left more than 75 people dead across at least four states
Swathes of Kentucky and other states were devastated by a deadly tornado that laid waste to the Mayfield Consumer Products Candle Factory and left more than 75 people dead across at least four states AFP / John Amis

"We live in a very historic community and all our downtown history is gone," she lamented. "We have four historic churches, our courthouse, the bank -- they are all gone."

In drone footage posted by storm-chaser Brandon Clement, Mayfield appeared post-apocalyptic: city blocks leveled, with almost nothing salvageable; homes beaten down to their slabs; tree trunks stripped of their branches; cars overturned in fields.

Kentuckians were reeling from what is described as the deadliest tornado in the state's history. At least 70 people have been killed in Kentucky alone, and the toll may surpass 100, Governor Andy Beshear said.

About two dozen tornados tore across five states overnight in the American heartland, the Red Cross said, brutalizing several towns, leaving more than a quarter million homes without power, and triggering a massive rescue and recovery operation.

Mayfield, Kentucky suffered a direct hit from a catastrophic overnight tornado that caused heavy damage to the city's courthouse, while also leveling dozens of other buildings
Mayfield, Kentucky suffered a direct hit from a catastrophic overnight tornado that caused heavy damage to the city's courthouse, while also leveling dozens of other buildings GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA via AFP / Brett Carlsen

Officials described Mayfield -- a city of 10,000 whose picturesque downtown has featured in Hollywood films -- as "ground zero" of the staggering storm.

Several structures collapsed entirely, while one warehouse was left barely standing, wobbly but defying gravity.

Mayfield, Kentucky resident Alex Goodman said it was "like a bomb" went off in her community as a powerful tornado ripped through the small city
Mayfield, Kentucky resident Alex Goodman said it was "like a bomb" went off in her community as a powerful tornado ripped through the small city GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA via AFP / Brett Carlsen

The Mayfield Consumer Products Candle Factory, where employees were working overtime for the holidays, was a mountain of twisted metal and debris.

Ivy Williams was desperately searching through the rubble for his wife Janine, who he said was among about 100 people working in the factory when the tornado hit late Friday night.

"My daughter had called me and told me that the roof was off the building, and I came rushing on over here. When I got over here, it was just like this here. I mean, it wasn't a building, I didn't know what it was," Williams told CNN.

"And then I just jumped in to start helping as much as I could. I did grab two people out -- one lady and a guy. And from then on, I was calling my wife's name, Janine Williams, and I didn't get no response," he added.

One of his wife's coworkers later told him "that she was on the list, that they had pulled her out," Williams said. "But I don't know where they took her."

Emergency workers in yellow slickers combed through the candle factory wreckage searching for survivors, but Beshear prepared Mayfield residents for the worst.

"We're going to lose a lot of lives in that facility," the governor said. "It's a very dire situation."

About 65 miles (105 kilometers) to the northeast, the smaller Kentucky town of Dawson Springs also suffered a catastrophic hit, with photographs showing block after block of destruction.

Resident Lori Wooton was at her daughter's home when the tornado unleashed its fury in an instant.

"It didn't seem like it lasted that long... three or four seconds and it was gone," Wooton told CNN.

"But then when we got out and started looking at the damage, it was just unbelievable."