(Jackson) At least three people have died following torrential rains which caused immense flooding in the eastern US state of Kentucky, announced its governor, who fears the toll could rise further.
Posted at 12:15 p.m.
Updated at 6:41 p.m.
“We are witnessing one of the worst and most devastating floods in Eastern Kentucky’s history,” Gov. Andy Beshear told reporters. “There are many Eastern Kentucky people on their roofs waiting to be rescued. »
He later said that three deaths, including that of an 81-year-old woman, had been confirmed, and that he expected a death toll “in double digits”. A number of people are missing.
In the area around Jackson, some roads have become rivers, with abandoned cars here and there. At the bottom of the small valleys surrounded by forests, the land was flooded Thursday with light brown muddy water that left only the roofs of buildings and trees protruding in some places.
Parts of Kentucky received some 20 centimeters of rain in 24 hours.
The governor declared a state of emergency in a handful of counties, and four National Guard helicopters, along with rigid inflatable boats, were deployed to help with relief operations.
“A lot of people need help,” the governor said. “And we’re doing our best to reach every single one of them. »
But “the situation is difficult,” he acknowledged. “Hundreds of people are going to lose their homes and this is going to be another event that will take not months, but probably years, for families to rebuild and recover. »
Some 25,000 people are without electricity, some without running water, in the state, he said.
President Joe Biden has been kept informed of the situation, his spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said. The head of the US Disaster Management Agency (FEMA), Deanne Criswell, is due to go there on Friday.