At least 70 feared dead in Kentucky after tornadoes tear through several states

At least 70 people are feared dead in Kentucky after tornadoes and severe weather tore through multiple states late Friday and into Saturday morning, causing catastrophic damage.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said at a news conference on Saturday that the death toll may exceed 100.

"This has been the most devastating tornado event in our state's history," Beshear said.

The storms hit a candle factory in Kentucky, an Amazon facility in Illinois and a nursing home in Arkansas. Beshear said about 110 people were in the Mayfield factory when the tornado hit.

Kentucky State Police Trooper Sarah Burgess said search-and-rescue teams are still going through the rubble of the candle factory but don't yet have a number for how many people have died.

"We just can't confirm a number right now because we are still out there working, and we have so many agencies involved in helping us," Burgess said.

She said rescue crews are using heavy equipment to move rubble at the candle factory in western Kentucky. Coroners have been called to the scene and bodies have been recovered, but she didn't know how many. She said it could take a day and potentially longer to remove all of the rubble.

Beshear said the tornado touched down for 227 miles (365 kilometres) — more than 200 in his state — and deaths were feared in 10 counties.

U.S. President Joe Biden tweeted Saturday that he was briefed on the situation and pledged that the affected states would "have what they need as the search for survivors and damage assessments continue."

Kyana Parsons-Perez, a factory employee, was trapped under 1.5 metres of debris for at least two hours until she was freed by rescuers.

In an interview with the Today show, she said it was "absolutely the most terrifying" event she had ever experienced. "I did not think I was going to make it at all."

Just before the tornado struck, the building's lights flickered. She felt a gust of wind, her ears started "popping" and then "Boom. Everything came down on us." People started screaming, and she heard Hispanic workers praying in Spanish.

Among those who helped rescue the trapped workers were inmates from the nearby Graves County Jail, she said.

"They could have used that moment to try to run away or anything, but they did not. They were there, helping us," she said.