The death toll in the Appalachia flood has risen to 25 in Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear said on Saturday.
“As of 11:00 a.m. this morning, we can confirm 25 fatalities across five counties,” he said during a press conference on Saturday.
Most of the deaths, 14, happened in Knott County. Four other counties also reported fatalities, with four in Breathitt County, two in Clay County, two in Letcher County, and three in Perry County.
Various groups joined the rescues by air, foot, and water. The National Guard from Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia have rescued 664 people by aircraft. The Guardsmen also rescued 19 people by boat.
Kentucky State Police and the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife carried out 624 water rescues.
The situation is a hard one and the death toll is likely to increase, the governor said.
“We are in search and rescue mode. Again that count is going to continue to go up. We don’t lose this many people in flooding. This is a real tough one,” he told reporters.
The rain let up early Friday after parts of eastern Kentucky received between 8 and 10 1/2 inches (20–27 centimeters) over 48 hours. But some waterways were not expected to crest until Saturday.
As rainfall hammered Appalachia this week, water tumbled down hillsides and into 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.
Portions of some state roads in Kentucky were blocked due to flooding or mudslides. Rescue crews in Virginia and West Virginia worked to reach people where roads weren’t passable.
In the tiny community of Garrett on Saturday, couches, tables, and pillows soaked by flooding were stacked in yards along the foothills of the mountainous region as people worked to clear out debris and shovel mud from driveways and roads.
The floodwaters raging through Appalachia were so swift that some people trapped in their homes couldn’t be immediately reached, said Floyd County Judge-Executive Robbie Williams.
Just to the west in hard-hit Perry County, authorities said some people remained unaccounted for and almost everyone in the area suffered some damage.
“We’ve still got a lot of searching to do,” said Jerry Stacy, the county’s emergency management director.
The flooding extended into western Virginia and southern West Virginia.
A state of emergency was declared for parts of Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia.
President Joe Biden on Friday approved a federal disaster declaration in Kentucky to direct relief money to 13 Kentucky counties.
