Kentucky tornado death toll: 77 deaths breaks record for deadliest storm in state's history
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The cluster of tornadoes that devastated entire towns and thousands of homes in Kentucky last weekend is now the deadliest in state history.
Gov. Andy Beshear on Friday said the death toll was up to 77 people, making these storms the deadliest in Kentucky history.
Three of the deaths on Beshear's list are people he said "we believe have been lost that are from Hopkins County, but passed away either outside of Hopkins County or have not been reported to the coroner," so there could be a discrepancy.
He said he believes the state's number of deaths in that county is correct — 17— but "I pray that it is wrong."
Sixteen people remain missing, the majority of which are in Hopkins County, Beshear added.
Aerial photos:: Deadly tornado devastates Mayfield, Kentucky
The best estimate on injuries at this time, Beshear said, are the 138 people who went to emergency rooms for care during or soon after the storms hit. He doesn't know their current conditions, he said.
Up until this month, Kentucky's deadliest tornado event was in Jefferson County in 1890, when 76 people were killed, according to the National Weather Service.
That EF4 tornado caused $2.5 million in damage, which would be around $7.6 billion in 2021.
The National Weather Service office in Paducah announced Wednesday that the tornado that hit Mayfield is preliminarily designated as an EF4, which is the second worst violent category.
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There hasn't been a formal estimate released on how much damage the latest tornadoes caused, but Beshear previously said "it's in the hundreds of millions of dollars at least."
"We are hurting," Beshear said Thursday. "We're still hurting and it continues to be very painful. But we are not broken."
Follow Louisville Courier Journal health reporter Sarah Ladd on Twitter @ladd_sarah.