Kentucky tornadoes leave multiple dead as severe weather outbreak tears across Ohio Valley

A tornado that swept through London, Kentucky Friday night left multiple people dead and a wide swath of significant damage.

LONDON, Ky. — A tornado outbreak that swept through the Ohio Valley Friday night left multiple people dead and several seriously injured in Kentucky as rescue crews were frantically searching damaged cities for other victims into Saturday morning.

Some of the hardest hit towns by apparent large tornadoes on Friday night were the Somerset area and London, where city officials reported significant damage.

“Multiple fatalities have been confirmed as a result of a tornado that pummeled Laurel County late Friday evening,” Laurel County Fiscal Court posted on Facebook, citing the Laurel-Whitley County Emergency Management Office. “Destroyed homes and buildings are still being searched by emergency responders.”

Officials did not give an exact count of the number of dead or injured yet.

Video from London shows extensive damage with multiple homes destroyed and vehicles barely recognizable as debris littered the neighborhood and lightning still flashed in the background.

“(My daughter) got scared so we went to the hallway,” a woman named Leslie who survived the storm with her family told emergency officials in the video. “And we were in there about two minutes and then my husband came running in and pretty much jumped on top of her because you could feel the air sucking in and it sounded like a train. And then we saw stuff falling and next thing you knew, most of the house was gone.”

After the tornado hit, they said they had to go looking for shoes and car keys to get out. Their car was damaged and covered in mud, but still started.

“My family’s OK, I don’t know about everybody else,” she said, adding she saw some of her neighbors had been injured.

The office also reported multiple serious injuries in town as damage was found strewn around the London-Corbin Airport, Jackson Wilderness Road Park and Oaks of London. subdivisions.

This is a breaking news situation. Check back frequently for additional updates.