17-02-2025
At Least 10 Dead In Kentucky After Severe Flooding Sweeps The South; Hundreds Of Thousands Without Power
At least 10 people are dead after severe weather struck the South over the weekend. Nine of those victims were killed by flooding in Kentucky as heavy rains pummeled the region.
Most of the deaths occurred when cars became stuck in high water, the Associated Press reported.
(MORE: Man Swept Away In Kentucky Floods)
At least 1,000 people in the state were rescued from the floodwaters Sunday, according to Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear. The governor said in a news conference that he believed the death toll in the state would rise.
The other death occurred in Atlanta when a large tree fell onto a home on Sunday, Atlanta Fire Rescue Capt. Scott Powell reported.
The storm system, named Wither Storm Jett by the Weather Channel, brought up to 6 inches of rain to parts of Kentucky and Tennessee, according to the National Weather Service.
'The effects will continue for a while – a lot of swollen streams and a lot of flooding going on,' NWS senior forecaster Bob Oravec said Sunday.
Hundreds of thousands of customers across the South, mid-Atlantic and Northeast were still without power as of early Monday morning, according to
Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia were under flood warnings over the weekend as the NWS warned people to stay off the roads.
A mother and 7-year-old child were swept away in Bonnieville, Kentucky, Saturday night, Hart County Coroner Tony Roberts said. The county saw a total of four deaths due to the severe weather, according to Beshear.
All patients from the Kentucky River Medical Center in Jackson, Kentucky, were transferred to two other hospitals when the facility had to close due to a nearby river flooding Saturday.
(MORE: Snow Follows Severe Flooding In Kentucky)
In Buchanan County, Virginia, mudslides blocked roads. In West Virginia, 13 counties in the south were under a state of emergency due to flooding, with some areas so flooded that they were cut off to traffic Sunday.
A levee failed Saturday in Obion County, Tennessee, triggering a state of emergency for parts of the county and flooding the small town of Rives. Rives was under mandatory evacuations, and Mayor Steve Carr reported "rising water, no electricity and freezing temperatures creating a life-threatening situation."
About 200 residents were rescued from the fast-rising floodwaters of the Obion River, according to the Tipton County Fire Department.
The National Weather Service in Birmingham confirmed an EF1 tornado in Hale and Perry counties Sunday morning, which carved a 15-mile-long path of destruction.
According to the Hale County Emergency Management Agency, more than 30 homes were damaged and eight were destroyed.
On Saturday night, four confirmed tornadoes touched down in Mississippi, and three in Alabama. Another tornado was confirmed in Louisiana's Washington Parish.
More than 300,000 customers were still without power in the South Monday morning, and power outages spread into the mid-Atlantic and Northeast as well. Here's where the numbers stood as of 6:30 a.m. EST Monday, according to
Alabama: 16,538 customers out of power
Mississippi: 7,151 customers out of power
Kentucky: 16,321 customers out of power
Georgia: 11,894 customers out of power
West Virginia: 29,966 customers out of power
Virginia: 52,486 customers out of power
Maryland: 53,209 customers out of power
Pennsylvania: 66,347 customers out of power
New Jersey: 31,010 customers out of power
New York: 17,235 customers out of power
Connecticut: 13,383 customers out of power
