More than 1,000 people have been rescued as emergency personnel scramble to assist those stranded by rising waters as a result of severe flooding that has devastated Kentucky. Officials warn that as search and rescue operations continue, the number of verified deaths will probably increase from the minimum of nine.
On Sunday, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear declared, “This is one of the most severe weather events we’ve dealt with in at least a decade.”
Several counties, including Hart, Pike, and Clay, reported fatalities, with numerous cases involving cars trying to drive through floodwaters. Beshear underlined how crucial it is to avoid driving in order to stop other fatalities.
According to a county official, a mother and her 7-year-old child perished in Kentucky when floodwaters in Hart County, close to Interstate 65, washed away the automobile they were in.
The two were carried away Saturday night in the Bonnieville neighborhood, according to Hart County Coroner Tony Roberts. According to county Emergency Management Deputy Director Revelle Berry, a 73-year-old man was discovered dead in floodwaters in Clay County in southeast Kentucky.
Authorities reported at the news conference on Sunday that about 40,000 homes are without power, 9,800 service connections are without water, and 26,000 are under a boil-water advisory. On Sunday, the Pike County School District declared that it will remain closed until further notice.
Beshear said on Sunday that his request for disaster relief cash had been approved by President Donald Trump. Tornadoes also struck a few Southern states.
Our survey team was able to confirm an EF-1 tornado in Hale and Perry counties. We will continue to survey additional areas this afternoon and in the coming days. pic.twitter.com/U5tTQx3Wwa
— NWS Birmingham (@NWSBirmingham) February 16, 2025
Early Sunday morning, the National Weather Service office in Birmingham reported that an EF-1 tornado had made landfall in Alabama’s Hale and Perry counties. According to the meteorological service, one house was demolished and several were “severely damaged”.
4 tornadoes occurred in NE MS Saturday evening.
1) An EF-1 in Shannon, MS
2) An EF-0 in SW Itawamba county
3) An EF-0 in South Fairview, MS
4) An EF-1 in Bounds Crossroads, MS
🌪️ #mswx pic.twitter.com/F2jyX0jtyn— NWS Memphis (@NWSMemphis) February 17, 2025
According to the National Weather Service office in Memphis on Sunday, there were four tornadoes in northeast Mississippi on Saturday night: an EF-1 in Shannon, an EF-0 in southwest Itawamba County, an EF-0 in South Fairview, and an EF-1 near Bounds Crossroads.
Bob Oravec, a senior forecaster with the National Weather Service, said the storms over the weekend dumped up to 6 inches of rain on parts of Kentucky and Tennessee.
“The effects will continue for a while, a lot of swollen streams and a lot of flooding going on,” Oravec stated on Sunday. “Any time there’s flooding, the flooding can last a lot longer than the rain lasts.”
According to the meteorological service, a levee in Rives, Tennessee, failed on Saturday afternoon, flooding the surrounding neighborhoods. How many persons were impacted is unknown.
The National Weather Service reported that tornado watches were in effect early Sunday in regions of Georgia and Florida, where severe storms also moved through.
According to Atlanta Fire Rescue Capt. Scott Powell, a “extremely large tree” fell on a house early Sunday, killing a person. He informed reporters that a 911 call had resulted in the dispatch of firefighters shortly before five in the morning.
Low temperatures in the minus 30s were predicted for the Northern Plains elsewhere, close to the Canadian border. In Minnesota and the Dakotas, dangerously low wind chill readings of – 40 to minus 50 are predicted.
In northern New York and parts of New England, heavy snowfall was predicted. According to the NWS, wind gusts of up to 60 mph could produce “hazardous whiteout conditions” in certain places.
A woman was killed in Northeast Philadelphia after a night of strong winds when a tree fell on the vehicle she was in, according to NBC Philadelphia.
There is heavy flooding in Kentucky
In Kentucky, water flooded buildings and automobiles, while in Virginia, mudslides closed roads late Saturday and early Sunday. Along with Tennessee and Arkansas, both states were under flood warnings.
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According to Lexington, Kentucky’s Division of Emergency Management, the city is under a flood warning till 4:30 p.m. on Monday. A boil water order has been issued in Hazard, Kentucky, due to the floods.
In a social media post, Lee County Judge Executive Steve Mays said that the 2,150-person city of Beattyville, Kentucky, had been evacuated. Officials have “evacuated all areas in the city limits that have been affected by the flood,” with the exception of an apartment complex and a nursing facility, according to Mays.
According to him, officials have attempted to “make contact” at the apartment complex by knocking on doors and “are in constant contact” with the nursing facility.
In some areas of Kentucky, snowfall early Sunday morning replaced the intense rains with cold temperatures.
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Before the storms hit, Beshear proactively proclaimed a state of emergency in Kentucky.
The city of Jackson’s Kentucky River Medical Center closed its emergency room and began moving all of its patients to two other nearby hospitals. The weather service predicted that afternoon that the north branch of the Kentucky River would crest almost 14 feet above flood level.
Authorities and locals shared images of cars and businesses submerged in south-central and eastern Kentucky on social media. The sheriff’s office in Buchanan County, Virginia, reported that mudslides had closed several roadways.
According to Kentucky’s Simpson County Office of Emergency Management, multiple automobiles were rescued from stalled-out vehicles amid floodwaters.
