Tornadoes tore through much of the Southeast last week with the death toll from the catastrophic storms now at 88 across the six most impacted states.

Friday night and into Saturday morning, tornadoes ripped through Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee during the off-season for tornadoes, causing millions of dollars in damage.

In Kentucky, at least 74 are dead, including children, and approximately 100 are reported missing. The death toll remains the same in the rest of the states, with Illinois recording six deaths at an Amazon warehouse. Four deaths have been reported in Tennessee, and Arkansas and Missouri have each reported two deaths.

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

Kentucky Lieutenant Gov. Jacqueline Coleman told NBC, “The only thing that rivals this level of destruction is the level of community and support that we’ve seen.”

Stories of heroism, kindness, resilience and even miracles have been reported since the news of the total devastation was public. Some of the stories are heartwarming, others shocking, and many bittersweet.

President Joe Biden plans to visit Kentucky next weekend as the death toll is expected to rise. The administration declared an emergency in the state and will supply millions in relief as entire towns were destroyed. There is also fear of a possible increase in COVID-19 cases in the impacted states ahead of the already expected holiday spike.

There were 23,000 people without power in Kentucky as of 8:30 a.m. EST on Tuesday, according to PowerOutage.us.

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