Hundreds of people continue to be missing in flooding in the US state of Kentucky. So far, 30 fatalities have been confirmed.
Hundreds of people are missing after devastating floods in the US state of Kentucky. “There are hundreds of people missing, at least,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Monday after visiting the disaster area the previous day. In the meantime, 30 fatalities have been confirmed, but the number will continue to rise. After heavy rains, there were flash floods and landslides in Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia in the middle of last week.
In many places, people were surprised by the water in their homes on Thursday night. Many of those affected were washed away hundreds of meters in the floods.
President Biden declares a disaster
US President Joe biden declared a state of emergency because of the flooding. This allows the USfederal government support the state of Kentucky in post-flood relief and reconstruction. 13 counties in the east of the state had been flooded. Many roads and bridges have been damaged or destroyed in the mountainous region, which is riddled with poverty due to the decline of the coal industry.
(APA)