Flooding worsens across South and Midwest after days of torrential rain

By Kimberly Kruesi

Rivers rose and flooding worsened Sunday across the sodden U.S. South and Midwest, threatening communities already badly damaged by days of heavy rain and wind that killed at least 18 people.

From Texas to Ohio, utilities scrambled to shut off power and gas, while cities closed roads and deployed sandbags to protect homes and businesses.

In Frankfort, Kentucky, rescue crews checking up on residents in the state capital traversed inundated streets in inflatable boats.

“As long as I’ve been alive — and I’m 52 — this is the worst I’ve ever seen it,” said Wendy Quire, the general manager at the Brown Barrel restaurant in downtown Frankfort.

As the swollen Kentucky River kept rising on Sunday, officials diverted traffic and turned off utilities to businesses in the city built around it, Quire said. “The rain just won’t stop. It’s been nonstop for days and days,” she said.

As of Sunday, the river’s depth had risen above 47 feet and was expected to crest above 49 feet Monday morning to a record-setting level, according to Frankfort Mayor Layne Wilkerson. The city’s flood wall system is designed to withstand 51 feet of water.

Forecasters said Sunday that flooding could persist as torrential rains lingered over many states, including Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama. Tornadoes are possible in Alabama, Georgia and Florida, forecasters said.

For many, as the rain kept falling, there was a sense of dread that the worst was still to come.

“This flooding is an act of God,” said Kevin Gordon, a front desk clerk at the Ashbrook Hotel in downtown Frankfort. The hotel was still open Sunday and offering discounted stays to affected locals, but Gordon said the hotel could eventually be forced to close.

Storms leaving devastating impact

The 18 reported deaths since the start of the storms on Wednesday included 10 in Tennessee. A 9-year-old boy in Kentucky was caught up in floodwaters while walking to catch his school bus. A 5-year-old boy in Arkansas died after a tree fell on his family’s home and trapped him, police said. A 16-year-old volunteer in Missouri firefighter died in a crash while seeking to rescue people caught in the storm.

The National Weather Service said on Sunday dozens of locations in multiple states were expected to reach a “major flood stage,” with extensive flooding of structures, roads, bridges and other critical infrastructure possible.

In north-central Kentucky, emergency officials ordered a mandatory evacuation for Falmouth and Butler, towns near the bend of the rising Licking River. Thirty years ago, the river reached a record 50 feet (15 meters), resulting in five deaths and 1,000 homes destroyed.

There were 523 domestic and international flights cancelled within the U.S. and more than 6,900 delayed on Saturday, according to FlightAware.com, which reported 121 cancellations and 3,865 delays of U.S. flights mid- Sunday.

The storms come after the Trump administration has cut jobs at NWS forecast offices, leaving half of them with vacancy rates of about 20 percent, or double the level of a decade ago.

Why so much nasty weather?

The NWS said 5.06 inches (nearly 13 centimeters) of rain fell Saturday in Jonesboro, Arkansas — making it the wettest day ever recorded in April in the city, dating back to 1893.

As of early Sunday, Memphis had received 14 inches (35 centimeters) of rain since Wednesday, the NWS said. West Memphis, Arkansas, received 10 inches (25 centimeters).

Forecasters attributed the violent weather to warm temperatures, an unstable atmosphere, strong winds and abundant moisture streaming from the Gulf.

In Dyersburg, Tennessee, dozens of people arrived Saturday at a storm shelter near a public school in the rain, clutching blankets, pillows and other necessities.

Among them was George Manns, 77, who said he was in his apartment when he heard a tornado warning and decided to head to the shelter. Just days earlier the city was hit by a tornado that caused millions of dollars in damage.

“I grabbed all my stuff and came here,” said Mann, who brought a folding chair, two bags of toiletries, laptops, iPads and medications: “I don’t leave them in my apartment in case my apartment is destroyed. I have to make sure I have them with me.”

For others, grabbing the essentials also meant taking a closer look at the liquor cabinet.

In Kentucky, with water rising up to his windowsills, Frankfort resident Bill Jones fled his home in a boat, which he loaded with several boxes filled with bottles of bourbon.