At least nine people died over the weekend as torrential downpours flooded parts of the southeastern United States.
Date: 17 February 2025 08:18:45
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said eight people had died in his state and said at a news conference on Sunday that the total could rise.
Hundreds of people trapped in floodwaters, many trapped in their cars, were rescued, and Beshear warned residents to “stay off the roads right now and stay alive.”
Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina were under some type of storm warning this weekend. Almost all of those states suffered catastrophic damage from Hurricane Helene in September.
More than half a million households in eight states were without power Sunday night, according to Poweroutage.us.
Some areas of Kentucky received up to 15 inches of rain, leading to widespread flooding, according to National Weather Service (NWS) figures.
Governor Beshear also said he has requested a White House emergency disaster declaration and federal funding for the affected areas, according to CBS News.
President Donald Trump signed the declaration on Sunday, authorizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which he has proposed eliminating, to coordinate disaster relief efforts.
Authorities warned that the worst of the floods was not yet over.
