Jill Biden visits Kentucky neighbourhood struck by tornado

A total of 77 people were killed in the state during the storms

First lady Jill Biden listens to a resident of the Creekwood neighbourhood that was hit by a tornado in Bowling Green, Kentucky. AP

US first lady Jill Biden visited a tornado-ravaged neighbourhood in Kentucky on Friday to meet residents and local leaders.

The Bowling Green neighbourhood was one of several areas hit hard by December 10 tornadoes that tore through the western part of Kentucky, killing 77 people in the state.

The neighbourhood includes Moss Creek Avenue, a street where 11 people died during the storms.

Dr Biden met with some residents along the street and later spoke at a recovery centre in the south-central Kentucky city.

“There is grief all around us for the destruction of the homes and the hometowns, for every life lost,” Dr Biden said in an address at the recovery centre.

“It will take time to make this beautiful place whole again. But what we’ve seen, what we’ve all seen today, is there is faith here, too. And there is so much strength and there is so much hope.”

President Joe Biden visited other areas of the state a few days after the tornadoes hit and promised that the federal government would be involved in the clean-up “for the long haul".

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear has said the clean-up of debris from the storms could stretch into April and cost tens of millions of dollars.