After severe flooding in the US state of Kentucky, the death toll has risen to at least 26. Governor Andy Beshear told NBC on Sunday that rescuers “will find bodies for weeks”. However, the US weather agency National Weather Service has warned of further flooding in large parts of the US.
It was “one of the most devastating and deadly floods in our history,” Beshear told NBC. And it keeps raining. Some areas of the flooded area were still isolated from the outside world over the weekend – due to flooded roads, destroyed bridges and disrupted cell phone reception.
disaster event
US President Joe Biden has declared a disaster because of the floods. This allows the US federal government to assist the state of Kentucky in post-flood relief and reconstruction. 13 counties in the east of the state were flooded. Many roads and bridges were damaged or destroyed in the mountainous region, marked by poverty due to the decline of the coal industry.