5-Month-Old Among 64 Dead in Kentucky After Tornadoes Rip Through State

A 5-month-old was among the 64 confirmed deaths in Kentucky after several tornadoes ripped through the state over the past weekend.

"As of this morning, our best count for confirmed deaths, the most accurate count we have are 64 Kentuckians. Remember this is fluid and the numbers will change and sometimes they have, thank God gone down, other times they've gone up," Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said.

"Of the ones that we know, the age range is 5 months to 86 years old and six are younger than 18," according to Beshear.

"Our state was hit by at least four tornadoes. One stayed on the ground in Kentucky for at least 200 miles, devastating anything in its path. Thousands of homes are damaged if not entirely destroyed and it may be weeks before we have final counts on both deaths and levels of destruction," Beshear said during the press conference.

According to Beshear, there are at least 20 deceased victims in Graves County; 13 in Hopkins County; 11 in Muhlenberg County; 12 in Warren County; and four in Caldwell County. There was also at least one fatality each in the counties of Marshall, Taylor, Fulton and Lyon.

"We believe it will certainly be above 70, maybe even 80. But again, with this amount of damage and rubble, it may be a week or even more before we have a final count on the number of lost lives," Beshear added during the press conference.

At least 105 Kentuckians are still unaccounted for following the tornadoes, Beshear said.

Following the widespread damage and deaths caused by the tornadoes, Beshear announced the creation of the Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief fund to help those in need of support.

During the press conference on Monday, Beshear explained that the fund's first expenditure will be providing $5,000 for burial expenses for "each family that has lost a loved one."

One tornado hit Mayfield, Kentucky, causing widespread damage to a candle factory in the city. During the press conference on Monday, Beshear said that state officials were working with the factory to confirm that eight workers at the factory were deceased while 90 others were accounted for.

Beshear previously declared a state of emergency and activated the state's National Guard in response to the tornadoes. President Joe Biden also approved a disaster declaration in Kentucky, providing federal assistance to the state.

On Sunday, Biden said that he plans to visit Kentucky but noted that he didn't want to "be in the way."

"When a President shows up, he shows up with an awful lot of personnel, an awful lot of vehicles, an awful lot of—we can—we can get in the way unintentionally," Biden said.