(Reuters) – The death toll from flooding in Kentucky rose to 11 on Monday with the potential to increase further as the state was due to get pummeled by a snowstorm that could jeopardize relief efforts, Governor Andy Beshear said.
Search teams conducted more than 1,000 rescue missions in the wake of flash flooding that affected nearly all of Kentucky and several surrounding states on Saturday.
Hundreds of people were displaced, more than 14,000 homes and businesses remained without power and another 17,000 had no water, Beshear said.
The Kentucky National Guard was deployed with assistance from aviation crews from Indiana and Tennessee. Federal urban search and rescue teams from Ohio, Indiana and Tennessee also responded.
Some parts of the state received more than 8 inches (200 mm) of rain while forecasts project up to 6 inches (150 mm) of snow on the way.
“We are still in the search and rescue phase of this emergency. We still have multiple different missions that are underway. There are still people that are in harm’s way,” Beshear told a news conference.
The governor said three additional deaths increased the toll to 11. Of the 11, nine were the result of flood waters and two from road accidents.
He also warned the effects of the storm were far from over.
“Power could be out for some considerable amount of time,” Beshear said. “There’s cold weather coming.”
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
