“It is still an emergency situation,” Beshear told reporters. “We are in search and rescue mode. Again, that number will continue to rise.”
Heavy rains of 5 to 10 inches (13 to 25 cm) battered the region from Wednesday to Thursday, washing away homes, washing away roads and pushing rivers out of their banks. While the region’s steep hills and narrow valleys make it prone to flooding, experts also blame climate change.
The floods are the second major national disaster to hit Kentucky in seven months, following a tornado swarm that killed nearly 80 people in the western part of the state in December.
President Joe Biden declared a major disaster in Kentucky on Friday, allowing the allocation of federal funds to the state.