93 dead across 5 states: The deadly tornado outbreak by the numbers

Most of the fatalities were in hard-hit Kentucky.

ByEmily Shapiro
December 18, 2021, 1:55 PM

The devastating twisters that tore through the South and the Midwest last weekend marked the deadliest tornado outbreak in the U.S. in a decade.

Here's a closer look at the tornadoes by the numbers:

93 lives lost

At least 93 people were killed across five states: 78 in Kentucky; six in Illinois; five in Tennessee, after the Associated Press reported an additional death on Saturday; two in Arkansas; and two in Missouri.

Victims' ages in Kentucky range from a 2-month-old to a 98-year-old.

PHOTO: Chelsea Emmons holds onto a cat that belongs to her mother, Kim Goforth, Dec. 11, 2021, in Bremen, Ky., while searching Goforth's following a tornado that struck overnight.
Chelsea Emmons holds onto a cat that belongs to her mother, Kim Goforth, Dec. 11, 2021, in Bremen, Ky., while searching Goforth's following a tornado that struck overnight. Emmons found the cat hiding in a dresser drawer.
Greg Eans/The Messenger-Inquirer via AP
Tornado damage after extreme weather hit the region, Dec. 12, 2021, in Mayfield, Ky.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

This was the deadliest tornado outbreak in the U.S. since May 2011, when more than 170 people were killed.

All missing people in Kentucky have been accounted for, Gov. Andy Beshear said Saturday. The death toll in the state could be 75, he noted, as officials work to confirm three deaths, though for now he believes it stands at 78.

35 confirmed tornadoes, 44 reported tornadoes

There were at least 44 reported tornadoes across nine states: Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Indiana, Ohio and Alabama.

PHOTO: Recovery operations continue after the partial collapse of an Amazon Fulfillment Center in Edwardsville, Ill., Dec. 12, 2021
Recovery operations continue after the partial collapse of an Amazon Fulfillment Center in Edwardsville, Ill., Dec. 12, 2021. The facility was damaged by a tornado on Dec. 10, killing six workers.
Tim Vizer/AFP via Getty Images
Laura Croft searches through debris near the location where her mother and aunt were found deceased after tornadoes ripped through several states, in downtown Dawson Springs, Ky., Dec. 13, 2021.
Jon Cherry/Reuters

Of those, 35 were confirmed tornadoes.

163.5 miles

A continuous tornado path -- an EF-4 -- spanned 163.5 miles, tearing through Kentucky with winds up to 190 mph.

This now holds the record for the longest continuous tornado track on record in Kentucky.

Over 1,000 homes destroyed

The storms ripped out entire blocks. Beshear said Sunday, "We're going to have over 1,000 homes that are just gone."

Wilbert Neil's home is in pieces after a tornado struck in Gilbertsville, Ky., Dec. 12, 2021.
Briana Stewart/ABC News

"I don't think we'll have seen damage at this scale ever," he said.

The governor, choking up, spoke about the destruction in Dawson Springs, a town of fewer than 3,000 residents where he said his father grew up. Beshear said his grandparents' home is still standing but "one block up and left or right is just gone, just flattened."

700 FEMA workers

Over 700 FEMA workers were on the ground processing claims as of Thursday, Beshear said.

Volunteer Peggie Stewart carries a container of clothing amidst an expanse of donated items for those in need of tornado disaster relief in the main hall of the Central City Convention Center, on Dec. 16, 2021, in Central City, Ky.
Greg Eans/The Messenger-Inquirer via AP

74,000 meals and 1,500 tarps

FEMA so far has provided Kentucky with 74,000 meals, 18,500 blankets and 1,500 tarps, White House principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday.

ABC News' Meredith Deliso, Will Gretsky, Melissa Griffin, Dan Peck and Will McDuffie contributed to this report.

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