Sen. Mitch McConnell visits Bowling Green after deadly tornadoes

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WDRB) -- U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell visited Bowling Green Friday to thank volunteers and look at areas of Warren County most impacted by last weekend's tornadoes.

"Well the only reaction you could possibly have, which is, a scene of absolute devastation and death," said McConnell. "As the judge just pointed out, the good news here is the way everybody is rallying together to help each other."

McConnell stopped by the volunteer center on Nashville Road, where community members have been stopping by to ask where they can go and what they should do to help their neighbors who have suffered the most loss.

While at the center, McConnell spoke with people who have been organizing clean-up efforts in the county and thanked them for their work.

IMAGES | Tornadoes devastate dozens of cities in western Kentucky

While in Bowling Green, he spoke about the federal government helping western Kentucky with emergency response costs.

"The federal government covers apparently everything for the first 30 days and of course this isn't going to be entirely cleaned up in 30 days, so when we get to the end of the 30-day period I imagine we'll have even more interaction with local officials here about what comes next, what kind of additional federal money is available, and so, this is going to take a while and we're going to stay on top of it from a federal government point of view until we get the job done," said McConnell.

The Warren County Coroner has confirmed 17 storm-related deaths in the county. Police said all those who had been reported missing have now been accounted for.

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