At least 25 people, including four children, have died in flooding unleashed by torrential rains in eastern Kentucky, and more are expected, Gov. Andy Beshear said Saturday. “It’s still an emergency,” Beshear told reporters. “We are in search and rescue mode. This number will rise again.”
Heavy rains of 5 to 10 inches (13 to 25 cm) lashed the region Wednesday through Thursday, sweeping away homes, washing out roads and pushing rivers over their banks. While steep slopes and narrow valleys make the area prone to flooding, experts also blame climate change.
The flooding was the second major national disaster to hit Kentucky in the past seven months, following a swarm of tornadoes that killed nearly 80 in the western part of the state in December. President Joe Biden declared a major disaster in Kentucky on Friday, allowing federal funding to be allocated to the state.
