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Another round of torrential rain and flash flooding on Saturday hit parts of the US south and midwest already heavily waterlogged by days of severe storms that also spawned deadly tornadoes. Forecasters warned that rivers in some places would continue to rise for days.
Day after day of heavy rains have pounded the central US, rapidly swelling waterways and prompting a series of flash flood emergencies from Texas to Ohio. The National Weather Service (NWS) said dozens of locations in multiple states were expected to reach major flood stage, with extensive flooding of structures, roads, bridges and other critical infrastructure possible.
At least 16 weather-related deaths have been reported since the start of the storms, including 10 in Tennessee.
A 57-year-old man died on Friday evening after getting out of a car that washed off a road in West Plains, Missouri. Flooding killed two people in Kentucky – a 9-year-old boy swept away that same day on his way to school, and a 74-year-old whose body was found Saturday inside a fully submerged vehicle in Nelson County, authorities said.
Also on Saturday a 5-year-old died at a home in Little Rock, Arkansas, in a weather-related incident, according to police. No details were immediately provided.
Tornadoes earlier in the week destroyed entire neighbourhoods and caused at least seven deaths.
And interstate commerce is affected – the extreme flooding across a corridor that includes the major cargo hubs in Louisville, Kentucky and Memphis could lead to shipping and supply chain delays, said Jonathan Porter, chief meteorologist at AccuWeather.
The outburst comes at a time when nearly half of NWS forecast offices have 20% vacancy rates after Trump administration job cuts – twice that of just a decade ago.
Louisville mayor Craig Greenberg on Saturday said the Ohio River rose five feet (about 1.5 meters) in 24 hours and would continue to swell for days.
“We expect this to be one of the top 10 flooding events in Louisville history,” he said.
Flash flood emergency and tornado warnings continued to be issued across Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee, with more heavy rains and damaging winds in the mix.
In north-central Kentucky, emergency officials ordered a mandatory evacuation for Falmouth, a town of 2,000 people in a bend of the rising Licking River. The warnings were similar to catastrophic flooding nearly 30 years ago when the river reached a record 50 feet (15 meters), resulting in five deaths and 1,000 homes destroyed.
In Arkansas, weather officials pleaded with people to avoid travel unless absolutely necessary due to widespread flooding.
BNSF Railway confirmed that a railroad bridge in Mammoth Spring was washed out by flood waters, causing the derailment of several cars. No injuries were reported, but there was no immediate estimate for when the bridge would reopen.
Since Wednesday more than a foot of rain (30.5 centimeters) has fallen in parts of Kentucky, and more than 8 inches (20 centimeters) in parts of Arkansas and Missouri, forecasters said Saturday.
Forecasters attributed the violent weather to warm temperatures, an unstable atmosphere, strong wind shear and abundant moisture streaming from the Gulf.
At least two reports of observed tornadoes were noted Friday evening in Missouri and Arkansas, according to the National Weather Service. One, near Blytheville, Arkansas, lofted debris at least 25,000 feet (7.6km) high, according to the NWS meteorologist Chelly Amin. The state’s emergency management office reported damage in 22 counties from tornadoes, wind, hail and flash flooding.
