Watch: Daylight shows destruction and devastation of deadly tornadoes
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MONETTE, Ark. (NewsNation Now) — Daylight showed the continued devastation and destruction in the aftermath of the deadly tornadoes that swept the Midwest last week.
The tornado outbreak Friday that killed at least 88 people in five states — 74 of them in Kentucky — cut a path of devastation that stretched from Arkansas, where a nursing home was destroyed, to Illinois, where an Amazon distribution center was heavily damaged.
In Monette, Arkansas, NewsNation reporter Tom Negovan stood outside what once was the Monette Manor Nursing Home.
“As you look around in the in the light of a new day, you can see the carnage around here,” Negovan told Adrienne Bankert on “Morning in America.” “Trees just snapped off. Enormous trees snapped or uprooted.”
The employees of the nursing home were moving the 67 elderly residents to safety when the roof collapsed, killing Golden Hembrey, a 94-year-old Korean War veteran and coronavirus survivor. Five people were injured during the turmoil as employees used their bodies to shield elderly residents from falling debris.
Outside the ruins of the nursing home were hunks of twisted metal, personal items and a large shipping container.
“There’s a shipping container just across the road from us, a huge steel shipping container that has just been tossed around like a toy,” Negovan said. “And that’s not the only one here. There’s another one. We can’t show it to you because it’s too far away.”
MONETTE, ARKANSAS – DECEMBER 12: The damaged interior of Monette Manor nursing home is seen on December 12, 2021 in Monette, Arkansas. The nursing home, which housed 67 elderly residents, was struck December 10 by a tornado, killing one man in his 80s. Multiple tornadoes struck several Midwest states late evening December 10, causing widespread destruction and leaving more than 80 people dead. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) 
MONETTE, ARKANSAS – DECEMBER 12: A damaged house is seen near the Monette Manor nursing home on December 12, 2021 in Monette, Arkansas. The nursing home, which housed 67 elderly residents, was struck December 10 by a tornado, killing one man in his 80s. Multiple tornadoes struck several Midwest states late evening December 10, causing widespread destruction and leaving more than 80 people dead. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) 
MONETTE, ARKANSAS – DECEMBER 12: A damaged uprooted tree is near the entrance of Monette Manor nursing home on December 12, 2021 in Monette, Arkansas. The nursing home, which housed 67 elderly residents, was struck December 10 by a tornado, killing one man in his 80s. Multiple tornadoes struck several Midwest states late evening December 10, causing widespread destruction and leaving more than 80 people dead. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) 
MONETTE, ARKANSAS – DECEMBER 12: Nursing home assistant Loretta Duggin walks down a hallway in the Monette Manor nursing home on December 12, 2021 in Monette, Arkansas. “The six minutes in this place felt like a lifetime. There were only four of us working when the tornado hit, but we managed to get all but one to safety. The majority of them can’t walk and are in beds… there was only four of us,” said Loretta when asked of her experience at the nursing home during the tornado. The nursing home, which housed 67 elderly residents, was struck December 10 by a tornado, killing one man in his 80s. Multiple tornadoes struck several Midwest states late evening December 10, causing widespread destruction and leaving more than 80 people dead. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) 
MONETTE, ARKANSAS – DECEMBER 12: A damaged storage container is seen in a field near the entrance of Monette Manor nursing home on December 12, 2021 in Monette, Arkansas. The nursing home, which housed 67 elderly residents, was struck December 10 by a tornado, killing one man in his 80s. Multiple tornadoes struck several Midwest states late evening December 10, causing widespread destruction and leaving more than 80 people dead. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
June Pennington, 52, also died when the storm hit a Dollar General store in nearby Leachville. Pennington worked as the assistant manager of the store. As of Tuesday morning, Pennington and Hembrey were the only two reported deaths in Arkansas.
Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson declared an immediate state of emergency in the hours after the tornado.
“Probably the most remarkable thing is that there’s not a greater loss of life,” Hutchinson said after touring the wreckage of the nursing home. “It is catastrophic. It’s a total destruction.”
