At least 16 people have died and the death toll “will rise” as devastating rains continue in eastern Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear said in a statement. update Friday.
Eleven of the deaths, including two children, occurred in Knott County, eastern Kentucky, the governor said.
“To all the families who know you have ever suffered a loss, we are going to grieve with you, we are going to support you and we are going to be there for you not just today, but tomorrow and in the weeks and years to come” , Beshear said.
Also on Friday, President Joe Biden issued a declaration of major disaster in the state and ordered the dispatch of federal aid to “areas affected by severe storms, flooding, landslides and landslides.” mud,” according to a White House press release.
Beshear said the state conducted about 50 air rescues and hundreds of boat rescues Thursday. So far, 294 people have been rescued and 337 are in shelters, he added.
“This situation is ongoing,” he said. “We are still in search and rescue mode and at least in some areas the water is not going to peak until tomorrow.”
Rescue teams, assisted by the National Guard, were searching Friday for more missing people, according to the Associated Press.
“We have volunteers coming in to help us,” Jerry Stacy, director of emergency management for Perry County, told MSNBC. “That’s going to be our focus, and, you know, we still have missing people, and we’re doing everything we can to find them.”
It was unclear how many people were still missing Friday morning.
The state on Thursday ordered the evacuation of the Panbowl Lake area in eastern Kentucky, where officials fear the dam could burst.
“We’ve already gone door to door and circled around trying to evacuate as many people who are ready to go,” Beshear said. “If you’re still there, why don’t you go find a friend, a relative, someone to stay with, go to a hotel – just go somewhere safe. We don’t want to lose any more people than we need.”
More than 23,000 people in the state are without power and “many counties without water,” he added.
The state saw 2 to 3 inches of precipitation Thursday night and could get the same over the weekend, Beshear said Thursday.
Up to 4 million people remain under flood alerts in Kentucky, southern Ohio, West Virginia and southwestern Virginia.
Beshear told “NBC Nightly News” host Lester Holt on Thursday that the ongoing flooding was “by far the worst flood disaster” of his life in the state.
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