Storms, tornadoes kill more than 25 in south-central US

MISSOURI, KENTUCKY AND VIRGINIA FACE THE BRUNT OF THE DEVASTATION

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Severe storms that swept through the US states of Missouri, Kentucky and Virginia left more than 25 people dead, laying waste to local communities and cutting off electricity to nearly 200,000, authorities said Saturday.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said on X at least 18 people had died in the storms Friday night, while local officials in Missouri said another seven were dead there.

Two people were also killed by falling trees in Virginia, local media reported.

Jamie Burns, 38, who lives with her husband and son in a trailer home in the town of London, Kentucky, had to seek shelter in the basement of her sister’s brick house while the storm destroyed 100 to 200 houses in the area.

"Things that have been here longer than I have, things that have been here for 30-plus years are just flat," Burns told AFP in a phone interview, her voice quavering. "It's wild, because you'll look at one area and it’s just smashed... totally flattened, like, not there anymore."

Houses levelled