Kentucky bracing for more heavy rain after flash flooding kills 4, prompts numerous water rescues

 

Kentucky residents are bracing for another round of relentless rain, a day after flash flooding killed at least four people and the governor declared a state of emergency.

The National Weather Service (NWS) Prediction Center upgraded the flood threat on Sunday for parts of Kentucky and Tennessee to a level 3 out of 4 "moderate risk."

The heaviest rain is expected early Sunday in southeast Kentucky and parts of Tennessee, including Owensboro and Somerset, Kentucky, and Knoxville, Tennessee.Rainfall rates of 2 to 3 inches per hour are possible, according to the NWS, and daily totals could reach up to five inches in some parts.

Several flash-flood warnings were issued on Sunday morning as ongoing heavy rain and flooding were reported in southern Indiana and northeast Tennessee.  A flash flood emergency has been issued for Metcalf, Cumberland and Clinton counties for ongoing life-threatening flooding, according to the NWS. Between 2.6 and 8 inches of rain have reportedly fallen over these areas.There have been reports of multiple water rescues with some evacuations and homes flooded in Clinton County. Clinton County and the City of Albany, Kentucky, have issued states of emergency due to ongoing flooding.

There have been reports of multiple water rescues with some evacuations and homes flooded in Clinton County. Clinton County and the City of Albany, Kentucky, have issued states of emergency due to ongoing flooding.

ThNorthwest North Carolina, which was hit by flash floods over the weekend, is also at an "elevated risk" of flash flooding on Sunday, according to the NWS.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear provided an update early Sunday afternoon in a video posted to X, saying in part that nine counties in all had declared states of emergency, some of which "got hit with record or almost record amounts of rain in very short periods of time," he said. Search and rescue efforts remain underway, he said.

Beshear advised residents to stay off of the roads if they can. "Bridges have been wiped out, entire roads have been wiped away and there is still standing and moving water,” he said. He added that he'd activated the state's price-gouging laws to prevent merchants from increasing prices on essential goods, and had also signed an emergency order “so pharmacies in areas that are hit can go ahead and fill people’s prescriptions that have been washed away or are no longer safe to take.”

There could be some relief on the way before the end of the day Sunday. The heavy rain and thunderstorms moving through these areas now will gradually begin to move to the south in the next few hours. By around 2 p.m. ET, Kentucky should be clear of the threat for heavy, flooding rains, but there could be some isolated showers still lingering around for the afternoon.

Beshear announced late Saturday that four people were killed in floods that hit central Kentucky and spread into northeast Tennessee and northwest North Carolina.

"Kentucky, I have some tough news to share," the governor wrote in a social media post on Saturday, announcing the deaths.

Three fatalities occurred in Madison County, Kentucky, and one flood-related death happened in Jackson County, Beshear said.

Recent Stories from A