At least 28 dead in a flood in the American state of Kentucky

Thailand isn’t the only part of the world suffering flooding problems. In the American state of Kentucky, downpours caused massive flooding with a death toll of at least 28 people so far and thousands of local people displaced. The flood hit the eastern part of the state in what Governor Andy Beshear described as some of the worst rainfall in the history of Kentucky.

Flood water swelled to nearly swallow entire houses, with people reporting they had to swim through the cold waters to get out of offices and homes. Rescue teams are travelling by motorboat through neighbourhoods and commercial districts looking for stranded people and those killed by the flood, while authorities endeavour to give shelter and food to those put out by the storm as the governor pledged support.

“We are still focused on meeting the immediate needs of providing food, water and shelter for thousands of our fellow Kentuckians who have been displaced by this catastrophic flood.”

Rescue efforts are likely to be hampered as more rain storms are expected, and experts predict that the confirmed number of dead people may continue to go up in the coming weeks as rescue teams can reach more remote areas. Southern and eastern Kentucky remain under flood warnings and Governor Beshear has declared a state of emergency.

President Joe Biden also declared Kentucky a major disaster, which allows the state to receive money from the federal government to help. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is now taking applications for the people of Kentucky who need disaster assistance.

Over 14,000 reports came in of power outages due to the power lines being knocked down or damaged in the flooding. Houses and other structures remain partially submerged, and the National Weather Service is forecasting more storms over the next two days.

Kentucky has been struggling lately, after several tornadoes tore through the state in December, that time through the western part of the state, bringing with them a death toll of 80 people.

SOURCE: Thai PBS World