More than 20 people have died after severe storms swept through the US states of Missouri and Kentucky, laying waste to local communities and cutting off electricity to nearly 200,000 people, authorities said on Saturday, May 17. Kentucky governor Andy Beshear said, on X, that at least 14 people had died in the storms Friday night, while local officials in Missouri said another seven were dead there. Beshear added that more than 100,000 people have been left without power in the state, and five counties have declared a state of emergency.
Drone footage published by local media showed scenes of devastation in London, Kentucky, with houses leveled and reduced to splinters and tree trunks standing bare, completely shorn of branches. Eastern Kentucky, an area historically known for its coal mines, is one of the poorest regions in the country.
In Missouri, five people were killed in the large city of St. Louis and two in Scott County, the State Highway Patrol said in a statement to Agence France-Presse (AFP). More than 80,000 people were left without power and three shelters were opened in the area, the statement added. More severe weather was forecast for Sunday night and Monday.
"Our city is grieving tonight," St. Louis mayor Cara Spencer told reporters Friday night. "The loss of life and the destruction is truly horrendous."
While there were warnings ahead of the severe weather – Beshear had protectively declared a state of emergency on Friday – the latest outburst may raise questions about whether sharp cuts by the Trump administration have left National Weather Service forecasting teams dangerously understaffed, forcing some offices to curtail operations. An estimated 500 of the 4,200 NWS employees have been fired or taken early retirements this year, according to the Washington Post.
The United States saw the second-highest number of tornadoes on record last year with nearly 1,800, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), trailing only 2004.