16 dead from Kentucky flooding with more storms likely on way
JACKSON, Ky. — Trapped homeowners swam to safety and others were rescued by boat as record flash flooding killed at least 16 people in this state and swamped entire Appalachian towns, prompting a frenzied search for survivors Friday through some of the poorest communities in America.
Heavy rain continued to pound parts of the region, and more rain was forecast for early next week. Authorities warned that the death toll would likely grow sharply and that some waterways were not expected to crest until today.
Water poured down hillsides and into Appalachian valleys and hollows where it swelled creeks and streams coursing through small towns. The torrent engulfed homes and businesses and trashed vehicles.
Mudslides marooned some people on steep slopes.
Rescue teams backed by the National Guard used helicopters and boats to search for the missing. But some areas remained inaccessible, and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said the death toll was “going to get a lot higher.” It could take weeks to account for all victims, he said.
Patricia Colombo, 63, of Hazard, Ky., got stranded after her car stalled in floodwaters on a state highway. Colombo began to panic when water started rushing in. Her phone was dead, but she saw a helicopter overhead and waved it down. The helicopter crew radioed a team on the ground that pulled her safely from her car.
Colombo stayed the night at her fiance’s home in Jackson, and they took turns sleeping, repeatedly checking the water with flashlights to see if it was rising. Colombo lost her car but said others who were struggling prior to the floods had it worse.
“Many of these people cannot recover out here. They have homes that are half underwater, they’ve lost everything,” she said.
Beshear said at least two children were among the victims and that the death toll could more than double as rescue teams reach more areas.
Extreme rain events have become more common as climate change bakes the planet and alters weather patterns, according to scientists. That’s a growing challenge for officials during disasters because models used to predict storm impacts are in part based on past events and can’t keep up with increasingly devastating flash floods, hurricanes and heat waves.
“This is what climate change looks like,” meteorologist and Weather Underground founder Jeff Masters said of the flooding in Appalachia and the Midwest. “These extreme rainfall events are the type you would expect to see in a warming world.”
A day before the floods hit
Appalachia, the National Weather Service had said Wednesday that there was a “slight to moderate risk of flash flooding” across the region Thursday.
The deluge came two days after record rains around St. Louis dropped more than 12 inches and killed at least two people. Last month, heavy rain on mountain snow in Yellowstone National Park triggered historic flooding and the evacuation of more than 10,000 people. In both instances, theflooding far exceeded what forecasters predicted.
President Joe Biden declared a federal disaster to direct relief money to more than a dozen Kentucky counties, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency appointed an officer to coordinate the recovery.
The National Weather Service said another storm front adding misery Friday to flood victims in St. Louis could bring more thunderstorms to the Appalachians in coming days.