At least 25 people have died in flooding in five eastern Kentucky counties but there could be "many more," Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said Saturday.
“This is going to get worse.
And I think we will update it, maybe even for weeks.
... There are still many people unaccounted for.
And in this area it is going to be a difficult task to get a firm number of people unaccounted for, ”he told CNN.
Among the fatalities
there are four children
(and not six as originally said).
The rains stopped early Friday after some areas recorded 8 to 10 1/2 inches (20-27 cm) in 48 hours.
But rain is expected again on Sunday afternoon, so rescue teams are moving as quickly as possible, Beshear added.
This young woman put her dog in a plastic box and saved them both from dying in Kentucky floods
July 30, 202201:00
“The water systems are overflowing, so there is no water or the water is not safe and you have to boil it [...].
We have a hospital that doesn't have one," added Besher, "we're still in search and rescue mode."
Rescue teams continue to struggle to enter the worst affected areas, some of them among the poorest parts of the country.
Teams have performed more than 1,200 rescues from helicopters and boats, the governor said.
Beshear, who flew over parts of the flood-affected region on Friday, described it as "total devastation, the likes of which we have never seen."
Flooding in Kentucky kills four children from the same family
July 30, 202200:28
Patricia Colombo, 63, of Hazard, Kentucky, was left stranded when her car stalled in floodwaters off a state highway.
Panic gripped her as it began to flood.
Even though her phone wasn't working, she saw a helicopter overhead and motioned for her to come down.
The helicopter crew radioed a ground crew who got her to safety.
It is the latest in a series of catastrophic deluges that have hit parts of the United States this summer, including St. Louis earlier this week and again on Friday.
More than 18,000 utility customers in Kentucky were still without power Saturday, according to poweroutage.us.
Parts of at least 28 state highways in the state were blocked due to flooding or mudslides.
Reggie Ritchie and his wife Della pause as they clean up their home destroyed by flooding from Troublesome Creek behind them in Fisty, Kentucky, on July 29, 2022. Matt Stone/USA TODAY via REUTERS
President Joe Biden declared the state a disaster area on Friday and ordered money to be sent to more than a dozen Kentucky counties.
Flooding spread to western Virginia and southern West Virginia, with both states declaring states of emergency to mobilize resources.
More and more extreme rains
Scientists warn that
climate change is making weather catastrophes more frequent.
Extreme rainfall is becoming more frequent as climate change warms the planet and alters weather patterns.
This presents an increasing challenge for authorities during disasters, as the models used to predict the impact of storms are based in part on past events and cannot keep pace with increasingly devastating flash floods and heat waves. , such as those that have recently affected the Pacific Northwest and the southern plains.
A Perry County school bus lies destroyed after being trapped in the Lost Cree floodwaters in Ned, Ky., Friday, July 29, 2022. AP
"It's a battle of extremes going on in the United States right now," Jason Furtado, a meteorologist at the University of Oklahoma, told The Associated Press.
"These are things that we expect to happen due to climate change... A warmer atmosphere holds more water vapor and that means it can lead to an increase in intense rainfall," he added.
