SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Severe storms, including some reported tornadoes, tore through several states overnight, including Kentucky and Missouri. Missouri reports at least seven people have died, and the mayor of London, Kentucky, says more than 20 people died there. Member station WUKY's Karyn Czar is on the ground in London, Kentucky. Thank you for being with us, Karyn.
KARYN CZAR, BYLINE: Thank you, Scott.
SIMON: Where - you're in Laurel County, which is south of Lexington, sounds like it had the most sustained damage. What are you seeing there?
CZAR: Well, what I am seeing is similar to damage I saw when I covered the deadly tornadoes that touched down in Western Kentucky about 3 1/2 years ago. The difference here is the path of destruction doesn't appear to be as wide, but the areas that were hit are just as devastating. I've seen a car that appears to have been taut on the street and ripped open like it was a tin can. There's debris scattered, where I'm told there used to be a subdivision, but the homes have been ripped apart. It is hard to tell in some areas of this subdivision where some of the property lines even were. And then you look past the clear swath that cut through, and the sun is shining, the birds are singing, the skies are blue and it's as if nothing was touched.
SIMON: I know you've been speaking with officials there about the fatalities.
CZAR: Yes. As of now, we are told that there are 23 fatalities in Laurel County. We are also told that there is a fatality in Somerset. More numbers may be coming in. We're hoping that's not the case. I just spoke with London Mayor Randall Weddle just a few moments ago, and he said, so far, that number has not risen, and they are hopeful that it will stay there until this disaster and recovery period is over. They do still have a few people who are unaccounted for, but the hope is that they are just unable to reach them because cell lines may be down. We have some cell services spotty, and we also have several thousand Kentuckians without power today.
SIMON: And, of course, Kentucky was hit by deadly flooding just last month. Were some of the same areas affected by last night's storm? That must complicate recovery efforts.
CZAR: Yeah, it really, really does. The bad news is we have been hit over and over again. The good news is that FEMA is on the ground, and we have been gathering reports where the destruction wasn't as severe or widespread. But again, we don't know the extent of that damage. But as you mentioned, dozens of Kentucky counties were affected by storms in April, but also we were affected in February. So FEMA has been on the ground in Kentucky for several months. The upside that we saw going from the February disasters to April is that since FEMA was already here, we were allowed to respond much quicker. So we're hoping that that will be the case as well today.
SIMON: Well, thank you and your colleagues for all of their fine reporting. Member station WUKY's Karyn Czar in Lexington, Kentucky. Thanks very much for being with us, Karyn.
CZAR: Thank you for having me. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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