Death toll climbs to 15 amid devastating flooding in Kentucky
The storm, which hammered several states with severe weather and heavy rainfall over the weekend, has claimed at least 14 lives.
Deadly flash flooding slammed portions of Kentucky and Tennessee on Feb. 15 and 16. Another winter storm will bring snow and cold to impacted areas this week. AccuWeather’s Melissa Constanzer has the details.
Water levels are still high across Kentucky and other parts of the Ohio Valley and mid-Atlantic regions reeling from back-to-back storms that brought snow, ice and dangerously cold weather.
The storm that hammered several states with severe weather and heavy rainfall last weekend, has claimed at least 15 lives—one person died when a tree fell on a home in Atlanta, another in West Virginia, and 13 in Kentucky including a mother and a 7-year-old child who were in a car stuck in high water.
Clarksville Fire Rescue members perform water rescues to evacuate trapped people during flooding on February 16, 2025 in Clarksville, Tennessee. (Photo credit: Getty Images)
Emergency teams from the Kentucky National Guard and Kentucky State Police conducted over 1,000 rescues and first responders went "door to door" in flooded zones to ensure everyone's safety, said Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear during a Monday press conference
In just under 24 hours, a deluge exceeding a month's worth of rain inundated Kentucky, triggering the lethal floods. Despite the end of the rainfall, the flooding danger persists as waterways remained swollen, Beshear added.
Beshear declared a state of emergency on Friday ahead of the storm to get approval for a federal disaster declaration that made federal aid available to affected areas, including ongoing search and rescue operations.
"There are still people at risk," Beshear emphasized, noting that they believed they had reached "many, if not most" of those affected by the floods, which closed more than 340 roads, a potentially record number.
Heavy rainfall caused severe flash flooding in parts of Kentucky and Virginia on Feb. 15. At least 11 people died in Kentucky during the powerful storm.
Kentucky’s recent flood crisis comes two years after devastating floods claimed 43 lives and ravaged parts of the state.
Kentucky was not alone in facing severe flooding. Over the weekend, five flash flood emergencies were issued in parts of Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee.
A truck sits in flood waters along the Cumberland River, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025, in Clarksville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
One such emergency occurred when floodwaters breached a levee in Obion County, Tennessee, on Sunday. The county was under a state of emergency, with mandatory evacuations in Rives, Tennessee, according to Obion County Mayor Steve Carr.
A flash flood emergency was issued for Rives, Tennessee, after a levee along the Obion River failed on Feb. 16, flooding the town.
In Virginia, flooding combined with recent snow and ice exacerbated an already perilous situation by adding a hypothermia risk for anyone caught in the frigid waters. This risk will become more prevalent as temperatures drop this week.
In Indiana, drone footage showed homes and roads submerged in floodwaters amidst snowy conditions on Sunday. "It floods here every year, but it’s been a while since it’s been this bad," said Hardinsburg resident Shelby Sandlin in a Facebook post.
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