American rescuers are now going door-to-door to locate victims of some of the most severe flooding to ever hit Kentucky, the state’s governor said Sunday. The rain resumed after a few hours of calm.
Some mountainous areas in eastern Kentucky remain inaccessible. The floods have turned some roads into rivers, washed away bridges, swept away homes and killed at least 28 people, according to a new toll from authorities.
Damage to mobile phone antennas complicated rescue efforts and estimating the number of dead and missing. “These floods are some of the most devastating, deadliest we have ever seen,” Governor Andy Beshear said on NBC. “And when we try to clear, it’s raining”.
“We will go door to door to try to locate as many people as possible,” he said. “We will be finding bodies for weeks, many of which will have been carried hundreds of meters.”
stricken economy
The governor visited flooded areas in three counties on Sunday. In areas affected by the rains, more than 350 people are sheltering in temporary shelters, he said.
The floods hit a region whose economy was already devastated by the decline of the mining industry, its main resource. “They wiped out areas where people already didn’t have much,” Beshear said.
Parts of Kentucky received some 20 centimeters of rain in 24 hours. The waters of the rivers suddenly rose several meters before emerging from their beds.
The National Weather Service announced on Sunday a new risk of flooding in the central-eastern United States of America, including in Kentucky.
President Joe Biden declared a state of “natural disaster” and released federal reinforcements to support areas affected by “storm, flooding, landslides and mudslides”.
This article has been published automatically. Sources: ats / afp