Flash flooding caused by torrential rain has killed at least eight people in eastern Kentucky and left some residents stranded on rooftops and in trees, the south-central US state’s governor said Thursday.
The world has been hit by extreme weather events in recent months, which scientists say are a dead giveaway of climate change.
“This will be the worst flooding in recent memory – devastating and deadly,” Gov. Andy Beshear said in an interview with local NBC affiliate WLEX.
“We’re going to end up with double-digit deaths. At the moment I think we can confirm at least eight, but that number seems to be increasing by the hour.”
The victims include an 81-year-old woman from Perry County.
Beshear said responders rescued “between 20 and 30” people from the air. Previously, he described people standing on rooftops or climbing trees to escape the floodwaters while awaiting rescue.
Many roads resembled rivers, shredded cars littered the landscape, and mud-brown floodwaters sloshed against the roofs of low-lying homes in the state’s Appalachian region.
Some areas reported more than 20 centimeters of rain in 24 hours.
The North Fork of the Kentucky River near Whitesburg, which is usually a foot or two deep at this time of year, rose to a staggering 20 feet, well above its previous record of 14.7 feet.
The governor said a state of emergency had been declared in half a dozen counties and four National Guard helicopters were deployed to help with the rescue effort.
The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife had used Zodiac boats to conduct water rescues.
“There are a lot of people out there who need help,” Beshear told reporters earlier in the day. “And we’re doing our best to reach each and every one of them.
“The situation at the moment is difficult,” he added.
“Hundreds will lose their homes and this will be another event where it will probably take years, not months, for many families to rebuild and recover,” he said.
Beshear said around 25,000 homes across the country were without power and many were without water.
The National Weather Service said the area was still at risk of flash flooding and warned that more heavy rains could be expected.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said President Joe Biden had been briefed on the flooding.
Jean-Pierre said Deanne Criswell, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, will travel to Kentucky on Friday and report to the president.
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