1st Special Edition / 2021_12_18

Tonight a special edition of World News Tonight from Kentucky. The deadly tornado outbreak: at least 34 reported tornados across 8 states. The death toll rising. This staggering scope of the devastation now coming into focus: entire towns wiped away. Rescuers working around the clock in a desperate search for survivors. Homes, churches and businesses now in splinters.

One tornado possibly on the ground for more than 200 miles: potentially the longest on record. A candle factory taking a direct hit with more than 100 people working the late shift to fill Christmas orders. Dozens killed, many still fear trapped. Several EF-3 tornados with winds up to 155 MPH. One leveling an Amazon warehouse in Illinois. At least six people there killed during a shift change. A nursing home ripped apart in Arkansas. Families describing terrifying moments hunkered down in their basements.

On the ground here we see it firsthand: neighborhood after neighborhood destroyed. The grandmother huddled over her grandchildren―one just 14-month-old―saving them. One of the only things still standing: her Christmas tree.

Late today Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear calling it the deadliest tornado event in state history.

Tonight the National Guard has now been deployed here helping in the search for survivors―tens of thousands in the cold and in the dark without power and the temperature here now dropping.

Meantime hospitals here in Western Kentucky already overwhelmed with COVID patients, now treating a rush of victims pulled from flattened homes and buildings. A doctor describing the chaos inside the ER: victims being brought in on pickup trucks. Everyone jumping in to help, pounding on the hospital doors for help.

And powerful images―Faith inside the storm zone. The First Christian Church in Mayfield destroyed―standing for more than a century. The congregation still gathering this morning for Sunday service. The pastor on perseverance and faith. Our team on the ground here tonight. A special edition of World News Tonight begins now.