Tornadoes Hit Kentucky, Illinois, With Dozens in Region Feared Dead

In Illinois, at least six people were confirmed dead at an Amazon warehouse hit by a tornado in Edwardsville. The city’s fire chief, James Whiteford, said in a Saturday evening briefing that 45 people had made it out alive from the facility and that search operations were continuing. Fatalities were also reported at a nursing-home facility in Arkansas.

Rescue operations were under way across Kentucky, and the largest death toll was expected to be at the candle factory, where 110 people were working overnight, Mr. Beshear said. Forty people were rescued from the rubble, Mr. Beshear said Saturday afternoon. Earlier in the day, he said no one had been rescued since about 3 a.m. Saturday.

He said one of the four tornadoes that hit the state touched down first in Arkansas and tore a path across 200 miles of Kentucky.

The governor declared a state of emergency overnight and has deployed the National Guard to help with search and rescue efforts. President

Biden

signed a federal disaster declaration Saturday.

Mr. Biden said the string of deadly storms across Kentucky and a group of central states was “likely one of the largest tornado outbreaks in our history.”

The president, addressing the nation from his hometown of Wilmington, Del., said he had spoken with Mr. Beshear and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) about the storms and had approved an emergency declaration in the state.

Mr. Biden said he had spoken extensively with Federal Emergency Management Agency officials, who were assessing the damage in the states and determining ways to speed federal resources to the states.

Mr. Biden told reporters he planned to survey the tornado damage in person once he receives assurances that a presidential visit wouldn’t get in the way of the search and recovery efforts. “I do plan on going,” he said.

“I promise you, whatever is needed, whatever is needed, the federal government is going to find a way to supply it,” Mr. Biden said.

The damage in Kentucky was extensive, with at least one town likely “decimated,” the governor said Saturday morning. “We lost people in multiple locations,” he said, calling it “something we have never seen before in Kentucky.”

The National Weather Service issued several tornado watches and warnings overnight for parts of the Midwest, including Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri.

In a statement, Homeland Security Secretary

Alejandro Mayorkas

advised residents to stay on alert, as severe weather remains a threat in the southeast U.S.

Kyanna Parsons-Perez was working at the candle factory Friday night in Mayfield, Ky., when she and other workers were evacuated to a safety area. After the building collapsed, Ms. Parsons-Perez began a

Facebook

live stream and detailed what was happening as rescuers tried to free her and other trapped workers.

“This is the only thing keeping me calm, so I’m going to keep going. I hope you all are watching,” she said at the beginning of the 10-minute video.

In the video, Ms. Parsons-Perez could be heard trying to calm her co-workers, at one point reassuring everyone nearby that they would be fine, because her 40th birthday is Saturday and she planned to celebrate once they were rescued.

“We’re going to be OK, baby. I promise,” she told one co-worker.

Ms. Parsons-Perez described being trapped in debris in the demolished candle factory.

“We got hit by a tornado and I’m trapped. I’m staying calm, but…I’m not OK,” she said. “I was at work and we got hit by a tornado. We are trapped.”

She asked someone to call and check on her children at their home in Paducah, Ky., about 30 miles north. “Don’t tell them I’m trapped though. Don’t tell them what’s going on. None of my kids have Facebook. I don’t want them to worry about me.”

After her rescue, Ms. Parsons-Perez tearfully said “they got me out” as she walked toward a group of paramedics.

Ms. Parsons-Perez later said in television interviews that rescuers ultimately freed her from about 5 feet of rubble.

In Illinois, Edwardsville Police Chief Michael Fillback said that the Amazon fulfillment center in town, about 25 miles east of St. Louis, suffered major structural damage and that more than two dozen people were bused out of the area.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether the damage was caused by straight-line storms or a tornado, but the National Weather Service office near St. Louis reported “radar-confirmed tornadoes” in the Edwardsville area around the time of the collapse.

“We’ve been closely monitoring the terrible situation in Edwardsville, and are heartbroken over the loss of our team members,” tweeted Amazon Chief Executive

Andy Jassy

on Saturday.

Amazon founder

Jeff Bezos

tweeted, “All of Edwardsville should know that the Amazon team is committed to supporting them and will be by their side through this crisis. We extend our fullest gratitude to all the incredible first responders who have worked so tirelessly at the site.”

In Tennessee four people were killed and at least one person is missing, state officials said Saturday evening.

—Ken Thomas contributed to this article.

Write to Alicia A. Caldwell at Alicia.Caldwell@wsj.com