Days of relentless rainfall across the US South and Midwest have finally subsided, but floodwaters continue to endanger lives and property across several states, with river levels still rising and the death toll mounting.
At least 25 people have died in the wake of powerful storms that struck the region since mid-last week.Kentucky has been hit especially hard, with widespread flooding prompting evacuations, water rationing and damage to infrastructure.
“As long as I’ve been alive — and I’m 52 — this is the worst I’ve ever seen it,” said Wendy Quire, general manager of the Brown Barrel restaurant in Frankfort, Kentucky.
John Ward, sheriff of Hardin County, Kentucky, said his area, south of Louisville along the Ohio River, is still seeing rising water levels. “It’s good to be able to come out this morning and it not be raining. We’re thankful for that, but we’re still dealing with water rising,” he said.
Twenty-one river gauge points across the Midwest and South are currently at major flood stage, with that number expected to double, according to the National Weather Service.
The flooding follows over a foot of rain in parts of the mid-South, including Memphis, Tennessee, where nearly an entire season’s rainfall fell in just five days. The downpour was accompanied by destructive tornadoes — 88 have been confirmed so far, six of them rated EF3 strength.
Among the dead are children: a five-year-old boy found in a damaged home in Arkansas and a nine-year-old Kentucky boy swept away by floodwaters on his way to school. In Georgia, a father and son were killed on a golf course when a tree fell on them during high winds.
“This event is not over until the waters have receded,” Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said on Monday. “Until the areas that have flooded are fully dry, until we don’t have saturated ground that could create mudslides over roads and bridges.”
Flooding has also disrupted water services in parts of Kentucky. In Frankfort, electrical systems used to pump river water were shut down on Sunday, prompting a plea for residents to conserve water. Harrodsburg faced similar challenges, relying on limited stored water after pumps were shut off overnight.
In Frankfort, the Kentucky River reached its second-highest recorded level early Monday, falling just short of the catastrophic 1978 flood and nearing the limits of the city's flood defences. Despite those protections holding firm, several areas still experienced significant inundation.
Buffalo Trace Distillery, one of the nation’s oldest continuously operating distilleries, was among the local landmarks affected by the rising river, a company spokesperson confirmed. The facility will remain shut through at least Thursday, with inspections postponed until it is safe to access the site.
Meanwhile, in Prospect along the Ohio River, the owners of Captain’s Quarters Riverside Grille took an unusual step to defend their property.
To combat the influx of murky river water, they intentionally flooded the building with clean water. Co-owner Andrew Masterson explained in a Facebook video that the strategy would make post-flood cleanup far simpler, as it keeps out much of the river’s mud and debris.
“It’s a major disruption to our operations. It’s costly, but it’s part of the reality of being on the river,” Masterson told CNN on Monday.
Water rescues were conducted on Sunday near Colesburg, roughly 30 miles south of Louisville, as the Rolling Fork River surged past its banks, the local sheriff reported.
Drone footage from the nearby town of New Haven captured the extent of the damage — floodwaters had inundated properties along the main street, turning roads into channels of murky water.
Beyond the town centre, the flooded roadway resembled a raised causeway, with surrounding fields completely submerged under a sprawling sheet of water.
Further east, video from Wilmore reveals a row of homes completely encircled by floodwater, with some nearly submerged up to their rooftops. Red inflatable rescue boats navigated through the neighbourhood, highlighting the scale of the crisis.
In Louisville, the Ohio River surged more than five feet within 24 hours and is projected to continue rising in the coming days, Mayor Craig Greenberg said on Saturday.
Flooding extended into parts of Ohio, where emergency responders carried out rescues in downtown Cincinnati early Sunday. According to CNN affiliate WKRC, a woman experiencing homelessness was saved after waking to find herself surrounded by rising water.
Later the same day, police said another person had to be rescued after driving past closure signs near a former amusement park. The vehicle became nearly fully submerged, but the driver escaped injury.
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders surveyed damage by air in the northern part of the state on Monday, where tornadoes and flooding followed weeks of dry, windy weather that had already triggered nearly 100 wildfires.
“If there has been a natural disaster event, it has happened here in the last month,” Sanders said.
In Tennessee, the City of Clarksville and Montgomery County jointly declared a local state of emergency after flooding damaged over 118 homes and 14 businesses. Officials said a third of those damages were considered major.
Meanwhile, severe weather along the US southeast coast on Monday disrupted air travel nationwide. Nearly 7,000 flights were delayed across the country, according to tracking service FlightAware.
Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport was hardest hit, with more than half of its flights delayed by Monday evening.
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