Saturday's devastating whirlwind has most likely claimed over 100 lives in the central and southeastern United States.

But there is still hope of finding survivors in the ruins, Jacqueline Coleman, deputy governor of the hard-hit state of Kentycky, told the BBC.

- The death toll continues to rise as the rescue crew searches through debris and knocks on doors in the affected areas to find out who is alive and who is missing.

"Have lost everything"

One of the survivors is 66-year-old Janet Kimp in the city of Mayfield.

- The door blew open right in my face, but I managed to get away.

The wind was so strong that it almost knocked me over.

"I have lost everything," she told Reuters.

On Sunday morning local time, President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency in Kentucky and thus federal resources can be deployed in the rescue and clean-up work. 

- I have said that I would like to go there, but I do not want to be in the way.

We will not be in the way of the work of saving and rebuilding, but I plan to go, said Biden.

At least 80 people are feared to have died in the state where, among other things, a nursing home ended up in the path of the tornado.

And in Mayfield, at least twenty people were killed when the candle factory they worked in was completely demolished.

By Sunday morning, 40 had been rescued from the rubble, many injured, while about 60 were still missing.

400 miles of devastation

- We had to get past the dead to reach victims who were alive, says the city's rescue chief Jeremy Creason about the efforts. 

At least 36 deaths have so far been confirmed from other states, including Illinois, Indiana, Arkansas, Missouri and Tennessee.

The number of fatalities is feared to rise as more demolished buildings are searched.

According to the weather service, the storm consisted of unusually strong whirlwinds that tore up a total of nearly 400 km long tracks in the ground through the six states, which according to researchers can be a record.

Tornadoes occur in connection with intense thunderstorms and are relatively uncommon as late in the year as in December.

a storm was predicted by authorities as early as December 8 - a forecast that has since been sharpened several times.