A FLOOD OF MISERY
Killer storms in central US
At least five people died as tornados and torrential rains pounded wide swaths of the South and Midwest over the weekend and continued to flood parts of the Ohio River.
The dangerous weather pattern prompted several emergency declarations even before the storms arrived.
The National Weather Service said floodwaters on the Ohio River in Louisville, Ky., and Cincinnati are at their highest level in 20 years, and warned that towns along the southern border of Ohio and West Virginia are at risk in the coming days. The river will continue to rise for at least another week, the agency said.
On Sunday, the body of a 48year-old man was found floating in floodwaters near Kalamazoo, said Michigan Public Safety Lt. David Thomas. His identity was not made public by Sunday afternoon, and an autopsy was planned for as early as Monday, Thomas said.
Three people were found dead Saturday in Kentucky.
Dallas Jane Combs, 79, died after a suspected tornado hit her Adairville home, the Logan County Sheriff ’s Department told WKRN TV.
Combs was inside the house when the winds hit, causing the structure to collapse. Her husband reportedly was outside the home putting up plastic to protect it when he was blown back in through the basement and suffered minor injuries.
A body was recovered from a vehicle submerged in a flooded ditch near Morganfield, the Henderson Fire Department said on its Facebook page.
And a man’s body was pulled from a vehicle in a creek near the south central Kentucky community of Franklin, the Simpson County Sheriff ’s Office said. The victim’s identity was being withheld pending notification of relatives.
In Arkansas, Albert Foster, 83, died after his home was blown into a pond, Clay County Sheriff Terry Miller told KAIT-TV.
The governors of Missouri, Indiana and Illinois declared di- saster emergencies as flood watches and warnings spanned multiple states from Missouri to Pennsylvania.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich issued an emergency declaration for 17 counties along the Ohio River and in southern Ohio.
“I urge people to stay safe by staying informed, not taking any chances, and checking in on your neighbors, especially seniors and families with young kids,” Kasich said in a press release.