Kentucky Flooding Leaves At Least 15 Dead; Number Expected To Double

JACKSON, KY — At least 15 people are dead amid record flooding in eastern Kentucky.

Gov. Andy Beshear toured the disaster area Friday and told The Associated Press the dead in Kentucky included children, but that he expected that number to more than double, "probably even throughout today.”

Search and rescue teams backed by the National Guard searched Friday for people missing in floods that wiped out entire communities in some of the poorest places in America.

Powerful floodwaters swallowed towns that hug creeks and streams in Appalachian valleys and hollows, swamped homes and businesses, left a pile of useless vehicles and crunched runaway equipment and debris against bridges. Mudslides on steep slopes left many isolated and without power.

The hardest hit areas of eastern Kentucky received between 8 and 10 1/2 inches over a 48-hour period ending Thursday, Brandon Bonds, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Jackson, told AP. Some areas got more rain overnight, including Martin County, which saw another 3 inches or so leading to new a flash flood warning Friday.

Accuweather issued an aerial flood warning and flood warning Thursday. The aerial warning was in effect through Friday morning, and the flood warning remained in effect through Sunday morning.

More than 33,000 people lost power Friday in eastern Kentucky, West Virginia and Virginia, mainly in Kentucky, poweroutage.us reported.

Meanwhile, emergency crews made close to 50 air rescues and hundreds of water rescues Thursday. Even more needed help, the governor said.

"This is not only an ongoing disaster but an ongoing search and rescue. The water is not going to crest in some areas until tomorrow," Beshear told AP.

More than 200 sought shelter, he added. The governor deployed National Guard soldiers to the hardest-hit areas.

“There are hundreds of families that have lost everything,” Beshear said. “And many of these families didn’t have much to begin with. And so it hurts even more. But we’re going to be there for them.”