At Least 9 Killed In Kentucky And Georgia As Floods, Severe Weather Slam South
At least nine people died as a massive storm system pounded the South with flooding and severe weather Saturday and Sunday, while snow and ice moved into the Northeast.
Most of those deaths occurred in Kentucky, where eight people died. In a news conference Sunday afternoon, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said he expected the death toll there to rise. Many of the deadly incidents involved drivers and vehicle passengers swept away by floodwaters. A child was among those killed.
In Atlanta, Georgia, a man was killed when a tree fell on a home early Sunday.
Severe storms erupted amid ongoing flash flood emergencies in places like Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia Saturday. More than 67 million people remained under winter weather alerts Sunday as the storms pushed into Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi.
As powerful wind gusts hit areas already saturated by heavy rain and flash flooding, power outages surged. By Sunday morning more than 220,000 homes and businesses were without power in Georgia. In Alabama, nearly 160,000 customers had no electricity.
The storm system was named Winter Storm Jett by The Weather Channel. Social media posts showed how the storms and suspected tornadoes tore apart homes and businesses in Tennessee and Alabama overnight.
More than 300 roads were closed across Kentucky on Sunday due to flooding and landslides. Gov. Beshear and other state safety officials urged people to stay off the roads. He said swift-water teams had rescued more than 1,000 people by Sunday afternoon. Beshear added that evacuations were continuing and President Donald Trump approved his request for an emergency disaster declaration for the state.
As much as six inches of rain fell and all 120 counties in the state were impacted, said state officials. Many of those areas were facing a fresh round of snow Sunday, worsening road conditions and making rescues and evacuations even more challenging.
In Tennessee, a flash flood emergency was issued Sunday afternoon in Obion County after a levee near the town of Rives, along the Obion River failed, triggering catastrophic flooding. The National Weather Service urged people in the area to get to higher ground immediately, warning that it was a life-threatening situation.
About 200 residents needed to be rescued, according to the Tipton County Fire Department, which sent a swift-water team to assist with rescues.
MORE Flooding, Deadly Storms In Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama | Weather.com
