'Your World' on Midwest tornado recovery

close

Video

Rep. Comer: It’s devastation like you can’t imagine

Kentucky Rep. James Comer describes the ‘substantial’ residential damage left from the tornado’s path.

This is a rush transcript from, "Your World with Neil Cavuto", December 13, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

NEIL CAVUTO, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: All right, thank you, Martha, very, very much.

We are awaiting some developments that are happening fast and furiously right now, particularly in Kentucky, the epicenter of all of this damage. You have heard 65 people have been killed in that state alone, 79 in total across a half-a-dozen-state swathe of devastation, unprecedented in the worst December for tornadoes in history, ever.

We will be analyzing that. Also, we are supposed to get an update right now from Governor Andy Beshear, who will be addressing reporters later this hour, as well as FEMA, giving us an update on where things stand as we speak right now and the emergency aid that the president has promised for all half-dozen states affected by this.

They include Kentucky, Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Illinois. Tangentially, we're hearing of damage that was done in Ohio and Mississippi, in Indiana as well.

Let's go right now to Governor Beshear of Kentucky with the very latest.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

GOV. ANDY BESHEAR (D-KY): ... wrecked, destroyed so many of our communities.

Our newest estimate on deaths -- and these are numbers coming from Emergency Management. They may differ a little bit from the coroner -- there's one of these we're certainly checking on -- is that we are now up to 74 Kentuckians that we have lost, one additional one in Graves since this morning.

Looks like four additional in Hopkins. And this is one we are checking right now. I had 14. Emergency Management came back with 17. I hope that the 14 is right. Three additional in Warren County, and one here in Franklin County, where an individual actually coming to work at this very complex that we're broadcasting from was pushed off the road in the storm and lost his life.

I have tried to reach out to his spouse, who works for us here in state government. And we are so sorry for their loss. Again, we expect that this death toll will continue to grow -- 109 Kentuckians now unaccounted for, but as I look at this broken down by county, it's way more, way more people want accounted for them this; 81 of these are in Hopkins County alone, 22 in Warren.

It says five in Graves, and that can't be right. There are more people than that that we have got to identify and find, hopefully safe, in Graves County.

Again, because we have multiple of our towns in rubbles, finding -- the numbers are going to move a little bit, and we're going to do the best we can to give you the most accurate information we can.

Yesterday, we received that major declaration from the federal government, the fastest in our history. We are very grateful. And we have now asked for additional counties to be added, both for public assistance. These are roads and government buildings and public infrastructure. It's the public assistance program, as well as individual assistance, people who have lost their homes.

The extra counties that we have asked for on public assistance include Boyle, Breckinridge, Bullitt, Casey, Christian, Edmonson, Grayson, Green, Hardin, Hart, Hickman, Livingston, Logan, Lyon, Marion, Monroe, Ohio, Shelby, Spencer, and Todd.

Those are the same counties we have asked for the individual assistance as well. That is how widespread the damage from this event is. When what I think will be an F-4 or F-5 tornado touches down and stays on the ground for 200 straight miles in a state with 120 counties, you have this many counties that have damage and this many counties that need help.

Our National Guard, we have augmented our forces that are assisting with recovery, now 448 Guardsmen in the field. And of those, at least 95 are doing a fatality search and working in these communities to look for missing Kentuckians. And their search is one where we hope they don't find them. We hope somebody connects to them and they're out there and we just don't know where they are yet.

Maybe they don't have cell service; 55 Guardsmen are providing logistics support to the state logistics support area. And three National Guard chaplains are providing spiritual help to soldiers and civilians in the affected communities. The new requests that we're getting or increased requests for M.P.s. That's needed help on the law enforcement side and then on the engineering side as well.

FEMA, just to go over a little bit of their response, their priority is to support lifesaving and life-sustaining action. They are working with all of us, every level of government in the declared counties. So, two FEMA incident management assistance teams have been working with us since Saturday.

They are also sending disaster housing experts to work with our teams in the field where we are hit the hardest, four urban search-and-rescue teams, including canine detection search teams, in towns -- and these are cadaver dogs that we never thought we'd need them in. They're in Mayfield and others to assist in local response.

An additional 10-person team is relocating about from Frankfort to Mayfield. An incident support base was established at Fort Campbell to rapidly deploy personnel and supplies. And they include 61 generators, 74,000 meals, 135,000 liters of water, cots, blankets, infant-toddler kits, pandemic shelter kits.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' temporary power and critical public facility staff are helping as well. Mobile emergency response support personnel is in Kentucky, including two mobile emergency operation vehicles with emergency communication capabilities. Staging teams, housing inspectors, damage assessment, and volunteer agency liaison staff are staged and ready to deploy.

That means, real soon, they are going to be walking around in what were neighborhoods, talking with families, recording the damage and working on processing their claim, giving them their claim number.

This is, again, the fastest we have ever seen. Eight shelters remain open in Kentucky now. Salvation Army is serving meals and providing emotional support.

Want to talk just a minute about staying safe while you are cleaning up. As you begin cleaning up, take photos. Make a list of your damaged property. This is going to be really important for claiming public assistance. You need to document everything you possibly can.

Survivors who cannot stay in their homes, we are taking into state parks. I will give the update on that. Do not touch power lines. These are all things that our people know. Stay safe while you are cleaning up.

A couple additional points. For outside donations for things like food, supplies, et cetera, if you are doing that for Graves County, the contact is Graves County Emergency Management. That's 270-727-5114.

Volunteer sign-up, do we have the Web site? There you go. This is from the Graves County Emergency Management. Please, if you want to volunteer, go through here.

One of the challenges, and it's a wonderful challenge for us to have, is so many people want to help, it's overwhelming many of our first responders who need to be out doing other things. This will significantly help. Please be patient. There's a lot of people who want to help.

Paducah Police Department has volunteered to accept food and supplies as well to help out Graves County. Their number is 270-444-8590. Physical address, 1400 Broadway, Paducah, Kentucky, 42003.

OK. And this one is really important. Again, we are working on verifying the information from the candle factory that right now would only have eight confirmed dead, which is a Christmas miracle we hope for, but we have to make sure it's accurate.

So all of the employees from the Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory, we need them to go and to check in at His House Ministries Church at 1250 KY 303 right there in Mayfield. We just want to see you, make sure you're OK, and verify that information. I believe the phone number we have now, which was wrong earlier -- again, we're just doing the best we can on short notice -- is 888-880-8620, if your transportation is unavailable.

So if you are an employee of that facility, either go to His House Ministries at 1250 KY 303 there in Mayfield or call 888-880-8620. That number is solely for these folks. Don't call trying to find out information on it. We need to know these people are alive and safe.

Kentucky State Police continues doing hundreds of welfare checks, along with local law enforcement, and working with the chief medical officer to assist with victim identification.

Update from our Cabinet of Health and Family Services. Graves County Senior Center and Western Kentucky Allied Service Building, that's the community action building, have been damaged so extensively, there's no way they can prepare meals for seniors. That's how mean this weather event was, but it also shows how incredible our people are.

So we sounded the alarm and, within 20 minutes, over 2, 300 shelf-stable meals were committed. These meals are being transported from senior centers in Breckenridge, Nelson and Fayette counties to 300 home-bound seniors in Graves County that are fortunate enough to still have a home by way of community action staff.

Further work is under way to secure additional meals. In the midst of this pandemic, we were able to eliminate our waiting list. Every senior who was hungry, we were getting a meal to. And then this comes through and destroys the place that you prepare them.

But others have stepped up, are helping us to provide that service.

Kentucky State Parks, we're offering minimum two-week stays to those that don't have a place to call their own at the moment. I want to provide room availability as of 1:00 p.m. today. Kentucky Dam Village, there are still 30 rooms available for families. Kenlake State Resort Park, 58 rooms available.

And we also have hookup outlets that can be used for washers and dryers, and we will accept donations of those to help people out. And the park will accept donations to help the people that they are helping out. The first lady in just a little bit is going to have some good news with our state parks, where we're going to try to lift up the people staying there.

Lake Barkley, we're awaiting electricity to be restored. When that happens, we will open up 56 additional rooms. But even with the lights not going, the park hosted a blood drive today. So thank you.

Barren River has 30 rooms available. John James has one cottage available. Pennyrile is full. That's right near Dawson. That WPA project is where my grandparents met.

Then the Rough River Dam State Resort Park, 47 rooms available. Again, families who are in need of emergency housing should contact their local emergency management office to request lodging, but, hey, if you show up there and you need help, they ought to help you call your local emergency management folks from the park.

Volunteers are needed at Kenlake, Kentucky Dam Village, Rough River Dam, and Lake Barkley state parks. And I know our folks are watching. It says walk-ins not accepted. That's not OK. If somebody walks in, call Emergency Management with them and work through it. Do not turn anybody away at any of our state parks. Let's work to confirm that they need our help. Make sure that they are in a warm place and they are fed while it's going on.

And we're not going to not accept people that need help.

Many of our agriculture operations reside in Western Kentucky and were impacted by the tornadoes that devastated the area. We're already working with many of them, dead livestock, major operations, helping to remove the carcasses and ultimately provide the support that's necessary.

To do that, I have created an agriculture working group. The working group will work with my office, the executive branch and any other entities deemed necessary. We have been in constant communication with the people in this working group the past 48 hours and we remain dedicated to addressing the needs of so many farmers in that area.

With that, I'm going to turn it over to Michael Dossett for his update. And then we're going to get uplifted by the first lady. Going to make sure our kids don't miss out on their Christmas.

MICHAEL DOSSETT, DIRECTOR, KENTUCKY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Thank you, Governor.

And, again, our hearts and prayers go out to the families of the loved ones lost and those who are still missing.

So, just a brief update. Our power picture improved a bit. We have, at this point, 2, 600 -- I'm sorry -- 26, 500 that are still out of power. Again, managing expectations, some of the large transmission towers -- and these are the ones you saw during the ice storm of 2009 -- these are the massive metal structures that carry the transmission lines -- have buckled.

That will take weeks to months to put back up, but that should not impact the large numbers. So I will go over very briefly counties with excess, over 500, customers' outage.

Graves, Calloway, Marshall equal about 14,000, Hopkins 6, 500. Christian 2,000, Hickman 1, 200, Fulton 900, Todd 700, Carlisle about 700, and Caldwell about the same, 700.

So we're moving forward very quickly. You have obviously seen -- if you are in the impact area, you have seen many contractors that are over target, assisting in the power restoration. If you don't have power, life is not good, and we're doing everything we can.

We have approximately 96 -- or 95 percent of those lines assessed across the state. Again, 29 transmission lines are down. And those are the large ones. We have no decrease in numbers for telephone poles and power poles that are down. It's 8,000 in only three of those large co-ops across the state. So expect a delay in putting the new poles in. That is very intense labor, and then they have to string the wires.

So a little update on the water and sewer systems. Currently, out of the impact area, most all of the systems are operating. And that includes 16. Two of the systems, one in South Hopkins in one and Mortons Gap, are about to come back online. We have provided a generator for that power -- to power their water system. So that should be fine.

James, if you could bring up the one slide, please.

And this is a slide that depicts the actual number of tornadoes. So, we now have five tornadoes identified. And you will see the -- confirmed is red, unconfirmed is blue, and the dots happened outside of our state. So the longest track, I believe we're up to an estimated 227 miles.

That would be one of the longest in U.S. history, if not the longest. And you can see the track of that. And if you reflect on the counties that the governor read off that were added, we included each and every county that these five tornadoes impacted.

Now, a lot of the damage is radar-indicated. So, when we see radar debris fields, we know that something was hit. And it could be only a barn or an outbuilding, or it could have been a commercial building or some homes. It could be a small part of a subdivision. So we have included all of those counties.

So we asked for and received a presidential declaration, as the governor indicated. This is not just FEMA leaning forward. This is the fastest in our history, and it normally doesn't occur in other states. So thank you to the president all the way down to Gracia Szczech, our regional administrator.

They paved the way waiting for the governor's declaration to go up there. It was signed very quickly yesterday. And now we have added on 20 additional counties. Again, I want to manage expectation. The fact that those 20 were sent up to FEMA does not mean we're going to be granted 20.

I will tell you, in conversations, they're going to assess groups of counties. They can't just turn on approval for 20 counties. So it's a process. And we will keep you updated on the process. But these five tornadoes are confirmed by radar.

The ones that are unconfirmed, the Weather Service has not finished their survey, and, quite frankly, as you have heard the governor state previously, and I'm in belief of this construct, this will be one of the large ones. An EF-3 is bad. That's 155.

But with this type of damage, we basically -- and, again, you have heard it said many, many times. I have been on site. And thank you to all the first responders, many of them out there doing their job when the wind was still blowing and debris was flying, rescuing people.

The long and the short of it is, we don't really know by any stretch of the imagination of all the infrastructure damage yet. So, that's yet to be determined. And that's just a brief update of where we're at 4:00 p.m. today.

A. BESHEAR: Well, and news I wanted to be wrong. I was apparently right.

We just confirmed that the Hopkins County 17 deaths is accurate. And that's where we're up to. So, that's one miracle we did not get, 74 lost Kentuckians as now. And that number is going to grow.

So, Britainy, we can use some good news.

BRITAINY BESHEAR, FIRST LADY OF KENTUCKY: This weekend, like everyone across our commonwealth, I was devastated to see the destruction in so many of our Western Kentucky communities.

These tornadoes would have marked one of the most awful days in our state's history, no matter when they struck. But it's even more painful that this tragedy happened just a few weeks before Christmas.

Especially during this time of year, we all look forward to being home for the holidays, spending time with those who mean the most of us. Now many of our families don't have a home to go to. Or, even worse, they have lost someone they love who made their family whole.

As a mom, wife, daughter and friend...

A. BESHEAR: As a mom, wife, daughter and friend, Britainy can only imagine the pain and grief that Kentuckians are feeling at the moment.

She knows so many of you feel the same way and wants to know how you can help make this season a little easier for those that are hurting. We are humbled by the countless individuals, organizations, first responders who sprung into action to deliver emergency supplies and shelter to their neighbors in need.

We have already announced the Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund and encouraged everyone to contribute, if you're able. Again, you can donate at teamwkyrelieffund.ky.gov -- again, me.

To start with, this fund is going to help cover funeral expenses for those we tragically lost in the storm. We are proud to announce that we have now had 44, 358 donations, well over $6 million.

The relief fund is going to help families affected by the tornadoes address some of their most urgent needs, no administrative fees. All of that is going to go to those families.

Want me to keep going.

B. BESHEAR: I'm going to try.

A. BESHEAR: OK.

B. BESHEAR: On top of that, with Christmas just around the corner, we want to help Western Kentucky parents and guardians, despite this devastation, make the holidays special for their kids.

That's why we're launching the Western Kentucky Christmas Toy Drive, so people across the state come together to make this Christmas special for as many babies, kids and teens as possible, who need our love and support more than ever.

Here's how it'll work. Starting tomorrow morning, December 14 through Saturday December 18, you can drop off new, unwrapped toys, games, books, or technology in its original packaging to a number of locations across the state.

You can also donate $25 Visa, MasterCard gift cards labeled with the dollar amount. We are asking for $25 cards, so it will be easier to give a consistent amount to families in need. But we encourage you to buy multiple $25 cards if you are able.

These gift cards also give people the opportunity to shop locally when possible and support businesses that were also hurt by the storm. There will be 13 regional Kentucky State Police posts collecting donations, as well as local police stations and independents, Lexington, Louisville and Paducah. Broadbent Arena in Louisville will also be collecting donations and will be the hub for anyone who wishes to mail a donation from anywhere in the state.

In addition, in Covington, the Kentucky County Government Center will be accepting donations. Finally, we will be announcing a few additional locations in Lexington tomorrow. Please visit firstlady.ky.gov/toydrive for collection center addresses and hours, as well as the mailing address for Broadbent Arena.

If your school, neighborhood, workplace or another community group is already hosting its own toy drive or wants to start one, that is great news. Once you have collected toys, we are happy to help you get them to one of the 20 central locations listed to our Web site by this Saturday, so we can handle transportation to Western Kentucky.

A couple of things to remember. Please do not wrap the gifts, as we need to know exactly what they are as we sort and organize them. You can donate wrapping paper, tags, bows and more, which we will distribute to parents and guardians.

We are not accepting clothing donations as part of this toy drive. But we do encourage you to seek out other organizations who are running clothing drives if you are interested in making those kinds of donations.

Again, we will be collecting these gift items beginning tomorrow through Saturday the 18th. We will share information later this week about where eligible Kentucky -- excuse me -- or eligible Western Kentucky families in need can go to pick up gifts.

We anticipate pickup times will begin this weekend and early next week ahead of Christmas Eve.

Last, but certainly not least, I want to thank our number one partner in this effort, who I know can't wait to visit Kentucky soon, Santa Claus. Just like when we collected 2.4 million masks during Coverings For Kids, I know our people are going to come together to make Toys for Team Western Kentucky an incredible success.

As Kentuckians, we come together when times are tough. We look out for each other. And no matter the challenges we face, we will get through it together.

Merry Christmas, Kentucky. Let's make it special for these kids and families, who have been through so much, and show them that we're going to be with them every step of the way.

A. BESHEAR: All right, if dealing with all this -- and thank you.

If dealing with all this isn't enough, we have a pandemic. It's continuing. And it's continuing to take lots of Kentuckians.

As an update, we -- every Monday, we start with Saturday, Sunday and Monday's numbers and go through some of the rest, 2, 308 new cases on Saturday, with 55 new deaths.

CAVUTO: We're continuing to monitor this a Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, his wife also playing a role in the recovery and help kids effort here.

The governor, though, sharing some rather tragic news here, that the count of those killed as a result of these storms has now increased to 74 dead. We also know at least 109 unaccounted for in the state of Kentucky alone.

The governor fears that that could be significantly higher, though, when the final numbers are in, that they just don't add up county by county, that it could be prohibitively higher than that.

All of this at a time when we're learning from a number of states in the area here that the body count and those still missing has risen considerably over just the past 24 hours.

We're going to go to Mike Tobin right now in Mayfield, Kentucky. The president of the United States is planning to visit the area on Wednesday.

Mike is there right now -- Mike.

MIKE TOBIN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: And, Neil, what I can tell you, what you have here in Mayfield is the sound of heavy equipment working.

Behind me, you have got the big hydraulic shovel, and he's just getting pile after pile of debris. And we're -- probably before we're done, we will see another dump truck from the Department of Highways pull up here. He fills up that truck in a matter of minutes. And the trucks run off to a couple of different dumps they have got set up on the outskirts of town in the temporary facilities, but they had to come up with something just to handle all of this debris.

As you look at the debris, this is an Azteca grocery store here. You will notice that some of the flooring is on the ground. What you also see is a lot of twisted steel. That shows you the power of the storm here. Not talking about mobile homes that have been torn apart.

If we come across the street here, we can see the First Christians -- First Christian Church. What you notice here is that brick structure reinforced by steel, reinforced by wood, that was destroyed by the force of the tornadoes that came through here.

Up the road, where -- you're looking at these pile of bricks. Up the road there is a search-and-rescue dog from the 1st Task Force out of Missouri that is working right now. And notice that I said search-and-rescue dog. They're still operating with the idea that this is a rescue operation in all of this debris, despite the fact that the nights have been very cold now, with this unique tornado that hit as winter is bearing down, as we're getting into the Christmas season.

You have very cold nights here. But there still is the potential, according to the rescuers, that you can have some void spaces and people surviving in those different void spaces.

Business owners out here, despite losing their structures, at least one of them promised to me that he would rebuild, despite the fact that, with the pandemic, with the decrease in business, he had to cut back on his insurance payments. He says he will get loans, he will go in debt, but he will rebuild.

Listen to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WAYNE FLINT, RESTAURANT OWNER: Around town here, there's houses that just looked like they were blown up.

I mean, you don't even -- if you didn't know that was his lot when you went by and that's where he lived, you wouldn't know it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TOBIN: And as we show you drone video now from the center of town, you really get a picture for how the destruction really goes on farther than the eye can see with this unique tornado that spent so much time on the ground.

The governor said the death toll stands at 74, with 108 or so missing. One of the things we saw, particularly with the candle factory, with the people who are missing, they're not necessarily missing as much as they are out of touch. You have cell towers, you have landlines that are down. And a lot of people start worrying about their immediate problems, as opposed to worrying about getting in touch and making sure that they are counted.

So, hopefully, with the amount of people who are missing right now, these are people who are -- just are unaccounted for. But one of the things -- I got to tell you, Neil, I have covered a lot of tornadoes. I have covered F- 5s. I was in Joplin, Missouri, where you had that one tornado that just parked itself for a long time.

I have never seen anything like this one. Generally, a tornado will bounce along, and you can see the beginning and the end of the destruction. Here, we had one that went to the southwest of here. It got itself a foothold on the ground and just drove along for 227 miles, we know now, cutting a path of destruction.

And that just doesn't happen very often -- Neil, back to you.

CAVUTO: No, it does not.

Mike Tobin, thank you very, very much.

Mike in Mayfield, Kentucky.

Again, the president plans to visit the area on Wednesday.

For that side of the story, Peter Doocy at the White House with more -- Peter.

PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Two days, President Biden is going to go down to Kentucky to see the physical toll these tornadoes have taken.

But he said a little while ago in the Oval Office it's not the physical toll that is his only concern.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I worry, quite frankly, about - - how can I say it? The mental health of these people.

You come home. You have lost your husband, wife, mother, father, children, somebody along the line, and what do you do? Where do you go?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOOCY: President Biden gave rare Saturday remarks about the storm from home in Delaware, and today huddled in the Oval Office with officials in charge of disaster response.

And while the president cautions he cannot say for sure the devastation was a result of climate change, officials in charge of the messaging see climate change as the common denominator in many of the events the president has responded to since taking office.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: It is not a political thing, because look at the communities that have been impacted, red, blue, purple, no color at all, communities that don't consider themselves political in any way, shape, or form. And this is certainly a driving reason why we need to do more to address the climate crisis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOOCY: During its first week in office at the White House, President Biden directed every Cabinet agency to consider climate change in everything that they do.

And now officials here are balancing talking about climate change while also trying to figure out how to help these families that have lost everything -- Neil.

CAVUTO: Peter Doocy, thank you very much for that.

To Congressman James Comer, the Kentucky Republican congressman.

Congressman, thank you for taking the time. I know these have been a crazy 48, 72 hours.

How do things look in your district?

REP. JAMES COMER (R-KY): They look pretty rough, Neil.

It's a devastation like I have never seen before. We always have tornadoes go through Kentucky, and they usually go through West Kentucky. Two big differences is, they usually go through the rural parts, the farmland and woodlands, and they usually are very narrow, you will see an instance where one side of the road was hit by the tornado and the other side was not.

But in this situation. The tornado was three-miles-wide. They're talking the length, 227 miles. It was three-miles-wide. And, unfortunately the path just happened to hit about six pretty good-sized towns, Mayfield being the biggest, along its path.

So it knocked out just substantial numbers of residences. Over 1, 200 homes have been completely destroyed in my House district alone, and no telling how many are uninhabitable right now.

It's just devastation like you can't imagine.

CAVUTO: I'm just wondering as well, did the folks there, and even in your district, Congressman, have much warning?

We get conflicting reports, some confusion over that. What can you tell us?

COMER: Well, the people that were watching TV -- the local TV station is Paducah, Kentucky. They cut off programming, and they were doing a tremendous job warning people.

If you had broadband, you had Internet, and you were able to see the warnings on the Internet. If you lived in the city limits and had decent hearing, you could hear the tornado sirens going off.

But, unfortunately, in rural America, we don't have broadband in very many places, especially the -- what they call the last mile. The last mile in rural Kentucky is many, many miles. So there was no broadband. There's also poor cell service. Even before the tornado, most of West Kentucky was not covered by any cell service.

So there are these reasons why we have to focus on rural broadband. And that's always been a top priority for me. It's just, in situations like this, we have had virtual learning where they couldn't go to school. Now you have warnings that people that live in the city were lucky enough to have some type of warning, but the ones that lived out in the country, where you didn't have cell service and didn't have Internet, then they probably didn't get any warning.

CAVUTO: Just incredible.

My deepest sympathies, Congressmen, to you and all your fine folks who are bravely now trying to dig out of this and move on with their lives.

Congressman James Comer of Kentucky.

With us now, a women who have survived that -- you have heard a lot about that candle factory disaster that claimed at least eight lives. I think there are disputed reports it's up to nine right now.

Autumn Kirks joins U.S.

Autumn, how are you holding up?

AUTUMN KIRKS, TORNADO SURVIVOR: As best as I can after losing somebody.

CAVUTO: You lost your boyfriend in this. Could you explain?

KIRKS: Well, he was he was about 10 feet from me when we started.

And I don't know where he ended up. I don't know where they found him. Nobody's really giving us that information. I was -- I mean, we were right there in the same hallway at the same time taking cover with everybody else from the plant.

CAVUTO: Oh, my goodness.

KIRKS: So...

CAVUTO: Now, a wall fell on you, right? I mean, could you explain what happened?

KIRKS: I don't know how the wall fell on us, other than the tornado.

But we had a guy play Superman. I don't know who he was. And I wish I did, so I could thank him. He lifted a concrete wall and lifted it right up off of me and three of my girls to help us get out and got -- we got to safety because of him. Otherwise, I'd feel like I'd probably still be under that wall.

CAVUTO: How was it that, when all this went down, Autumn, the -- I know it's very tough to go back and remember all of this, but it seemed so fast.

Everyone who you talk to said it was -- it seemed to happen in seconds.

KIRKS: It did.

They said, "Take cover." And about that time, everything just got really quiet. And then it was like the building was just picked up and thrown back down on top of us.

CAVUTO: What were you told at the time?

KIRKS: And in a matter of -- we were told that there is a tornado warning. We did hear the sirens. And they told all the team leads and supervisors through our radios to get our teams and get our people and get to the two evacuation hallways and take cover as best we can once we got there.

CAVUTO: How many were able to escape, at least from what you could remember?

KIRKS: From what I can remember, I know -- I can think of at least 30 people that I have seen since then that are in good shape.

I know my boyfriend and our supervisor's wife, they both passed away due to the destruction. And, I mean, there -- I know there's so many more that are still lucky to be with us.

But I personally have seen 20 or 30 of them and hugged them and held them dearly, because we are a family at work. Sometimes, it don't seem that way, but we try our best to take care of our people.

CAVUTO: And I know you're not seeing this right now, Autumn, but we're showing what the area and the candle factory was like before the storm and then after. It's virtually unrecognizable after that everything around it was completely destroyed.

Now, I know the candle factory owner said he's eager to rebuild and stay there, and prove that Kentuckians can come back, and that they will come back. How do you feel about that?

KIRKS: I believe that we are strong.

And I believe that we have a strong community. And, I mean, it's very apparent that everybody is coming together to help each other out. And, as for rebuilding, I think it's a wonderful idea. I mean, we have already been told they were going to be starting a new building.

And, either way, I can't wait. I look forward to going back to work. I love my job. And I love the people that I work with.

CAVUTO: How is your extended family holding up, and you, Autumn?

KIRKS: One moment at a time right now.

I'm still, I guess, processing it. I haven't really -- it hasn't hit hard enough for me to break yet. And I'm just waiting for it. I know it's coming. But, for right now, we're one moment at a time. All the kids are a mess. His mom is just a disaster.

But, I mean, considering the circumstances, we're holding up pretty good.

CAVUTO: Autumn, anything I'd say would just seem empty and just cliche, but hang in there. You have got a whole nation rooting for you and your friends and your family, child, and everyone.

I cannot believe what you're going through, particularly now responding here. Just know you have a lot of people praying and hoping for the best.

KIRKS: Thank you so much.

CAVUTO: We will have more after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: All right, just updating you, tragically, on some of the numbers coming out of Kentucky and that six-state region that was buffeted by these two dozen tornadoes that combined for a force the likes of which we have never seen into December, I mean, never ever, ever, anything like this, 74 confirmed dead in Kentucky as of now.

That would bring the total in this six-state area that includes the likes of Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, and Illinois to about 88 that we know of, the governor indicating right now that 109 are unaccounted for, . But he suspects, given the county-by-county reports, that those numbers might be conservative.

Now, as our Mike Tobin has also reported, a good many of those, it might not be a case of them missing, as much as unable to tell people that they're alive and well. And we hope that is indeed the case.

I want to go right now to Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, as many of you know, Iowa no stranger to tornadoes, at least a dozen of them confirmed in the past year alone, five quite, quite serious in the state.

Senator, it's very good to have you, I'm sorry under these circumstances, but we do know that federal help is indeed on the way. The president signed off on that almost immediately. But those people are going to need help now across the entire region.

What's the first thing that happens when help is signed off in an emergency status?

SEN. CHARLES GRASSLEY (R-IA): Well, I think it's already happened.

The governor and the president has said so. Then, just like in 2008, when we had an EF-5 tornado within three miles of my farmhouse, New Hartford, Iowa, and Parkersburg, Iowa, 13 people died, whenever there's a natural disaster, the same programs immediately are instituted, and people that qualify get help, and the money is a big factor.

And FEMA starts a fiscal year with X-number of dollars in it. And, if that goes through the 12 months of the fiscal year, that's it. But, usually, during the middle of a fiscal year, if you have a lot of disasters, that money runs out, and it's kind of a nonpartisan or bipartisan way of just replenishing it.

So the programs are the same that have been around for decades, and the same people in Kentucky will qualify, just like the same people in Iowa would qualify under those laws. And then the money is there to help them, according to what the law gives them the help.

CAVUTO: I wonder too, Senator, given the unusual nature -- first of all, tornadoes, when we hear about them, they generally are in rural areas or areas where there aren't as many people. It doesn't minimize the impact just the same for those people, of course.

But here, of course, it seemed to almost target and a swathe that included populated areas, and no less in the month of December. I'm just wondering, given the federal aid and everything else we're considering, do we have to rejigger things now when we look at risk levels with storms?

GRASSLEY: Well, I think, always, public law is subject to review. And we won't really answer that question until we find out how the existing laws impact the people that are hurt in this area.

But I think that there are pretty general laws. It's how they're administered, and if the money is available. And you don't run into so much about the problems of the money or the law applying to people, but, too often, you get, for a couple of weeks, people coming in from FEMA and telling the people, this is how we will help you, and then they leave, and another group of people come in, and, somehow, it's not exactly carried out the way the first people promised us.

And that inconsistency is so what -- is so what's tragic for the people that need help. And they want to know that they're going to get it. And they want to get it right now.And they may not be able to get it right now. But you shouldn't have to have these conflicting points of view from different people administering the same public law.

CAVUTO: Got it.

Yes, how is that then allocated? I know I'm getting into the weeds here, but probably people in these hit areas, Senator, want to know a little bit more about the weeds, because the five or six states, part of this, when the money or FEMA funds or efforts come to each and every state, do the states then respectively take care of their own needs? How is all of that handled and administered?

GRASSLEY: No, it goes more from the federal government to people that are hurt, not from the federal government to the states.

Now, the states might get some money or the local governments might get some money. But that hits another aspect of FEMA. What you and I have talked about to this point is it affecting individuals and families and businesses.

CAVUTO: Right.

GRASSLEY: When it affects the infrastructure of city government, that's a whole different program, but it kicks in about the same way. And the same thing would affect if there's any place where the state steps in.

Now, we have only talked about FEMA. There's programs that are in commerce, in HUD, and there's programs particularly with the Small Business Administration that are almost as important and maybe, to some extent, with the Department of Transportation.

CAVUTO: Senator, having been through tornadoes yourself quite a few times, being an Iowan, it's -- I wouldn't say they are common, but they're certainly not uncommon.

How do you advise people that are trying to rebuild through this, let alone those who've lost loved ones, but just the next step?

GRASSLEY: OK.

Well, in most cases, there's an 800 number. And you call up and you get your information that 800 number, so that there isn't some deadline that goes by here 90 or six months from now, and you thought you were going to get some help, and you don't get help. You need to let people within FEMA know right now that you have been hurt, and the extent to which you have been hurt, and you're more or less on the list.

Now, that list doesn't get you the help. You're going to have to have consultation with people on a one-on-one basis to know exactly how you will be helped.

CAVUTO: And a lot of times...

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: Go ahead. Finish that thought.

GRASSLEY: One other thing.

CAVUTO: Please.

GRASSLEY: One other thing to remember here, that what's covered by private health insurance kick -- private insurance -- kicks in before FEMA help kicks in.

CAVUTO: Yes, I'm glad you explained. That was just what I was going to kind of touch on, also this notion that it's very hard for people to get back and fill out forms and have FEMA and others see the damage and all.

They can take their own smartphone or any device they have to take pictures of the damage done now, right, just if they want to expedite this?

GRASSLEY: They obviously should do that, yes.

CAVUTO: Got it.

Senator Grassley, thank you very much.

Chuck Grassley of Iowa, a man and a state very, very familiar with these types of storms, but, of course, nothing like this devastation we saw in these populated areas that cut across half-a-dozen states, something Robert Ray, our FOX Weather correspondent, is seeing up close for himself in Mayfield -- Robert.

ROBERT RAY, FOX WEATHER MULTIMEDIA JOURNALIST: Neil, when the president comes here on Wednesday, he's going to experience piles of debris in every direction.

We will have the story of this area coming up, and, specifically, the search and rescue that is not only going out here in Mayfield, but in other towns all around Western Kentucky.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: It is a long and tough mission now, just the ongoing recovery and rescue efforts going on right now in all five -- six states, if you include Illinois, that also had to deal with these tornadoes, but none perhaps more ferociously than in Mayfield, Kentucky.

That's what the president will be visiting on Wednesday. That's what you will find our Robert Ray, the FOX Weather correspondent who's been monitoring all of this -- Robert.

RAY: Neil, good late afternoon here from Mayfield, a town of about 10,000 that is decimated. And that is an understatement.

Unfortunately, many people have lost their lives here. And search and rescue has been going on all day. Now, about 67 miles away, there is Dawson Springs, a town of about 2, 600 people that the governor of Kentucky actually has ties to.

I spent most of the day there, surveying what has happened, 75 percent of that small town destroyed by this tornado. Today, search-and-rescue crews were out on the ground there, volunteers and emergency services literally canvassing these neighborhoods that are flattened, pulling up debris, looking for survivors, hoping for a miracle.

And then, on the other hand, unfortunately, there are many people that are still missing in that area. They're looking for those that could be deceased under the rubble.

Also, homeowners that barely survived telling their harrowing stories. I talked to Sally Hicks earlier today about what she went through.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SALLY HICKS, TORNADO SURVIVOR: You can see here's -- the pears were sitting on this plate right here. That's where the pears were. And they're out there.

The tomatoes were sitting right here. And they're undisturbed. It's just -- you just can't even imagine how fickle everything is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAY: Neil, there there's no roof on her home. Absolutely, there's no roof on that home.

You saw her, the tomatoes not moved, but yet around her the walls caved in, the roof taken away. She and her husband took shelter in the basement of that home. The walls fell in. She is OK. Her husband fractured his shoulder and broke his arm. He is doing fine, but definitely injured.

People in the surrounding area that they know have lost their lives, so just tremendous devastation and heartache going on in that small town, as search and rescue continues here. And they have had the canine dogs out canvassing the areas.

In the distance here in Mayfield, you can hear the heavy machinery starting to pick up debris that have already been gone through, really, really tough times here -- Neil.

CAVUTO: All right, Robert, thank you so much.

Robert Ray, FOX Weather correspondent, following all of that, witnessing something that is hard enough, let alone during the Christmas season.

Let's remember that, and let's remember them, and let's help them.

Here's "The Five."

Content and Programming Copyright 2021 Fox News Network, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Copyright 2021 VIQ Media Transcription, Inc. All materials herein are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of VIQ Media Transcription, Inc. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.