Flooding caused by torrential rains left at least 16 dead, 6 of them childrenand the amount may double, in the “worst” floods in the history of KentuckyAndy Beshear, governor of that south-central US state, said Friday.
“Bad news, 16 confirmed deaths now and there will be many more,” said Beshear at a press conference, who estimated that hundreds of people lost everything and it will take at least a year to rebuild it.
A house is cleared from a bridge near the Whitesburg Recycling Center in Letcher County, Kentucky. @heraldleader pic.twitter.com/ZcfpgRdzsQ
— Ryan C. Hermens (@ryanhermens) July 29, 2022
In total the victims are 16, but the authorities fear that in the next few hours the balance could double. “There are still many missing”assured the official, according to the ANSA news agency.
The governor declared a state of emergency in half a dozen counties and deployed four National Guard helicopters to help rescue victims, the AFP agency reported.
Some were made 50 aerial rescues and hundreds from boatsaccording to Beshear, but there is so much water and the currents are so strong “we can’t get to all of them,” he said as rain is expected to continue until Friday night, so the flood watch remains in place.
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, declared the state of “natural disaster” and mobilized federal reinforcements to support the areas affected by the storm, floods, landslides and rivers of mud.
flood damage @kentuckyweather @foxweather @StoryfulNews pic.twitter.com/1PYDrrlrPM
— Gary Raleigh (@Graleigh1224) July 29, 2022
Torrential rains swept over eastern Kentucky Wednesday night, turning some roads into rivers and forcing residents to take refuge on the roofs of their homes while they waited for help. Others were trapped by rising waters or were swept away while inside cars. “The number of victims is devastating”Beshear told CNN.
According to the Lexington Herald Leader newspaper, four brothers, aged between a year and a half and 8 years old, were swept away by the waters when they had taken refuge in the top of a tree with their parents, and the bodies of two of them have been found. . An 82-year-old woman also drowned while trying to get to safety, authorities said.
Many roads in the area resembled rivers, wrecked vehicles dominated the landscape and muddy water reached the roofs of the lowest houses in the Appalachian region. In some areas the deluge left up to 20 centimeters of water in 24 hours.
Flooding this morning in Whitesburg, KY. Videos taken by Christy Casolari. @nwsjacksonky @kentuckyweather @spann #KYwx pic.twitter.com/yqpGDNSMKy
— Chad (@ChadBlue83) July 28, 2022
The North Fork Kentucky River off Whitesburg, usually a foot or two deep, is now close to 20 feet (6.10 meters), well above its previous record of 14.7 (4.4 meters). ).
“Eastern Kentucky gets a lot of flooding, but we’ve never seen anything like this,” added Besher, who said “The people who have been in charge of these things for 20 years say that they have never seen such heights of water”. Thousands of people remain without electricity or running water, and shelters have been opened in gyms, churches and parks. “These are the worst floods in Kentucky history and they come after the worst tornadoes in history”lamented the governor.
In December, dozens of tornadoes hit five states in the central United States, especially Kentucky, killing at least 79 people.
