Deadly storms give way to rising rivers in flood-ravaged central US; danger is not over

WTVA, LARRY DEVORE, CNN

By Hanna Park, CNN

(CNN) — Deadly, relentless rain across the South and Midwest is finally subsiding Monday, but the danger for many communities is increasing. They only have to look at the rapidly rising rivers to see what’s coming.

“As long as I’ve been alive — and I’m 52 — this is the worst I’ve ever seen it,” Wendy Quire, the general manager of the Brown Barrel restaurant in downtown Frankfort, told The Associated Press.

Floodwaters were already inundating communities Sunday, the result of days of rain from storms that claimed at least 19 lives since the middle of last week.

Rivers are still on the rise in several already flood-ravaged states. The Kentucky River is expected to crest in Frankfort – Kentucky’s capital – just shy of the city’s protective flood walls.

“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,” said John Ward, sheriff of Hardin County, which is south of Louisville on a bend in the Ohio River.

“I’ve seen homes underwater that have never had water. I don’t think people were ready,” Ward told CNN’s Kate Bolduan on Monday morning.

Over a foot of rain has fallen across the mid-South since Wednesday where some locations – including Memphis, Tennessee – recorded nearly an entire spring’s worth of rain in just a few days. On Saturday over a dozen daily rainfall records were set in Arkansas and Tennessee. Little Rock got over 6 inches, and Nashville got nearly 4 inches. Memphis hit 5.47 inches, making Saturday the city’s wettest day ever in April.

The relentless rain was dumped by destructive storms that also produced tornadoes across the central US. The National Weather Service has rated at least 58 tornadoes since the storms began, with three rated as EF3 strength. As of Saturday, the US had seen 10 consecutive days of tornadoes.

The storms have left at least 19 people dead across seven states, including 10 in Tennessee. Among those killed are a 5-year-old boy found in a storm-damaged home in Arkansas and a 9-year-old Kentucky boy who was swept away by floodwaters while walking to his school bus stop. On Sunday, a father and son were killed on a Georgia golf course when the tree they were sheltering under fell, according to CNN affiliate WTVM.

Floodwaters devastate broad swath of Kentucky

The widespread flooding has triggered evacuations, water rescues, and warnings to move to higher ground across Kentucky.

In Frankfort, the Kentucky River is predicted to crest at a new record of 49.5 feet – the highest level since 1978 and worryingly close to what the city’s flood protections can handle. Water levels were at just over 48 feet early Monday morning.

“I’ve heard tales about 1978,” Frankfort resident Karen Kuhner told CNN affiliate WKYT. “I wasn’t here then and my heart just goes out to all of the people that aren’t able to leave and whose homes are more than likely going to be destroyed.”

Frankfort’s government warned that floodwaters could spill over in areas where the protection is not fully shored up, but they believe the city’s protective barriers will be able to handle the high water mark.

“The flood wall system is designed to withstand 51 ft. of water, assuming all sandbag lines, temporary protection and levee closure structures are in place,” the city said in a statement.

Frankfort Mayor Layne Wilkerson ordered a curfew for overnight Sunday into Monday, calling it “a necessary measure to ensure public safety, prevent looting and vandalism, and allow our first responders and recovery teams to operate efficiently.”

Emergency crews worked Sunday night to contain a large spill of motor oil and diesel fuel at a trucking garage outside Butler, CNN affiliate WKRC reported. Pendleton Emergency Management spokesman Rob Braun said the spill, caused by high water, was near Northern Elementary.

Residents of Butler and Falmouth were ordered to evacuate Saturday – anyone who stayed behind was warned their utilities could go out, and water rescuers might not be able to reach them if needed, according to CNN affiliate WCPO.

Several Falmouth residents came to the aid of an older neighbor to help her move belongings out of her home.

“Most of the people here (don’t) know the homeowner,” one of the residents told WCPO. “They just seen us back up here with the trailer and they just stop and say, ‘Can we help?’”

Water rescues were carried out Sunday near Colesburg, about 30 miles south of Louisville, the county sheriff reported, as waters rose rapidly in the Rolling Fork River.

Drone footage of nearby New Haven shows the aftermath of the river bursting its banks, flooding properties on the town’s main street with brown water. As the road leads out of town, it takes on the appearance of a causeway, fields hidden under vast quantities of water.

So many roads across Kentucky were impassable due to flooding over the weekend that the state ran out of road-closing barriers, the Hardin County sheriff said.

Farther east, footage from Wilmore shows a line of homes fully surrounded by water – some with the water right up to their rooflines. Red inflatable boats are seen moving around the neighborhood on waterways above what presumably are yards and streets.

Even communities far from major rivers are trying to contain damage from swollen streams. In western Kentucky, Kevin Spraggs, the top elected official in Marshall County, spent much of his weekend alongside local jail inmates filling sandbags, CNN affiliate WPSD reported.

“The water’s at levels that I’ve never seen here,” Spraggs told the station. “We’ve got a couple of watersheds that we’re in fear the levees may breach.”

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency last week and urged “everyone statewide to take this seriously.”

The Kentucky Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, the Administrative Office of the Courts in Frankfort, and Hardin County courts will be closed on Monday. The Franklin County courts will be closed all week.

Farther south, the Ohio River, which runs through Louisville, Kentucky, rose more than 5 feet in 24 hours and is expected to rise significantly higher over the next few days, Mayor Craig Greenberg said Saturday.

Flooding also plagued parts of Ohio. Emergency crews rescued a woman without a home who woke up surrounded by water in downtown Cincinnati early Sunday, CNN affiliate WKRC reported.

Later that day, another rescue was made after a driver ignored road closure signs by a former amusement park in the city. The driver was not injured but had to be rescued from their almost completely submerged vehicle, police told CNN affiliate WLWT. CNN reached out to the Cincinnati Police Department for comment.

In Georgia the storms are impacting this week’s Masters golf tournament in Augusta. The gates of the iconic course “will not open as scheduled for Monday’s practice round,” Masters officials said in a statement.

CNN’s Andy Rose, Amanda Jackson, Karina Tsui, Susannah Cullinane, Jacob Lev, Zenebou Sylla and CNN Meteorologists Gene Norman and Mary Gilbert contributed to this report.

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