Kentucky tornadoes: governor confirms at least 64 deaths as toll expected to rise

The ages of those killed ranged from five months to 86 years, six of them younger than 18, Beshear said at an emotional press conference in Frankfort, the state capital.

He said that 109 Kentuckians were still unaccounted for, and that the eventual number of confirmed deaths might not be known for weeks.

Crews continued to sift the devastated ruins of towns across multiple states on Monday as many grieved and survivors shared harrowing tales of their escape.

Kentucky was the worst hit of eight states where dozens of tornadoes whirled through in massive nighttime storms that leveled whole communities.

Joe Biden declared a major federal disaster in Kentucky, where representatives of a candle factory in the small city of Mayfield reduced to eight the number they said were still unaccounted for. Another eight of 110 shift workers are known to have died after an unseasonal, record-breaking tornado with whirling winds up to 200mph razed the building.

The US president plans to visit Kentucky on Wednesday.

But he added he was worried about the mental health of survivors, too, many of whom he said were on fixed or lower incomes.