JACKSON, Ky. -- Kentucky's governor said it could take weeks to find all the victims of flash flooding that killed at least 16 people when heavy rains turned streams into torrents that swamped towns across Appalachia.
More rainstorms were forecast to roll through in coming days, keeping the region on edge as rescue crews struggled to get into hard-hit areas that include some of the poorest places in America. But some waterways were not expected to crest until today.
It's the latest in a string of catastrophic deluges that have hammered parts of the U.S. this summer.
"From everything we've seen, we may be updating the count of how many we lost for the next several weeks," Gov. Andy Beshear said. "In some of these areas, it's hard to know exactly how many people were there."
Rescue teams backed by the National Guard used helicopters and boats to search for the missing. Beshear said Friday at least six children were among the victims and that the total number of lives lost could more than double as rescue teams reach more areas. Among those who died were four children from the same family in Knott County, Coroner Corey Watson said Friday.
"There are hundreds of families that have lost everything," Beshear said. "And many of these families didn't have much to begin with. And so it hurts even more. But we're going to be there for them."
Extreme rain events have become more common as climate change bakes the planet and alters weather patterns, according to scientists. That's a growing challenge for officials during disasters, because models used to predict storm impacts are in part based on past events and can't keep up with increasingly devastating flash floods, hurricanes and heat waves.
"This is what climate change looks like," meteorologist and Weather Underground founder Jeff Masters said of flooding in Appalachia and the Midwest.
A day before the floods hit Appalachia, the National Weather Service had said Wednesday that there was a "slight to moderate risk of flash flooding" across the region on Thursday.
The floodwaters raging through Appalachia were so swift that some people trapped in their homes couldn't be immediately reached, said Floyd County, Kentucky Judge-Executive Robbie Williams.
Just to the west in hard-hit Perry County, authorities said some people remained unaccounted for and almost everyone in the area had suffered some sort of damage.
"We've still got a lot of searching to do," said Jerry Stacy, the emergency management director in Perry County.
More than 330 people have sought shelter, Beshear said. And with property damage so extensive, the governor opened an online portal for donations to the victims.
President Joe Biden called to express his support for what will be a lengthy recovery effort, Beshear said, predicting it will take more than a year to fully rebuild.
Biden also declared a federal disaster to direct relief money to more than a dozen Kentucky counties, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency appointed an officer to coordinate the recovery. FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said at a briefing with Beshear the agency would bring whatever resources were necessary to support search and recovery efforts.
Even the governor had problems reaching the devastation. Beshear got a look at the flooding later in the day aboard a helicopter.
"Hundreds of homes, the ball fields, the parks, businesses under more water than I think any of us have ever seen in that area," the governor said. "Absolutely impassable in numerous spots. Just devastating."
Portions of at least 28 state roads in Kentucky were blocked due to flooding or mudslides, Beshear said.
The flooding extended into western Virginia and southern West Virginia, across a region where poverty is endemic. Rescue crews in Virginia and West Virginia worked to reach people where roads weren't passable.
More than 20,000 utility customers in Kentucky and almost 6,100 in Virginia remained without power late Friday, poweroutage.us reported.
Gov. Jim Justice declared a state of emergency for six counties in West Virginia where the flooding downed trees, created power outages and blocked roads. Gov. Glenn Youngkin also made an emergency declaration, enabling Virginia to mobilize resources across the flooded southwest of the state.
The hardest hit areas of eastern Kentucky received between 8 and 10½ inches over 48 hours, said National Weather Service meteorologist Brandon Bonds.
The National Weather Service said another storm front adding misery to flood victims in St. Louis on Friday could bring more thunderstorms to the Appalachians in coming days.
The North Fork of the Kentucky River broke records in at least two places. It reached 20.9 feet in Whitesburg -- more than 6 feet over the previous record -- and crested at 43.5 feet in Jackson, Bonds said.
ST. LOUIS' RECORD RAINS
The Appalachian deluge came two days after record rains around St. Louis dropped more than 12 inches and killed at least two people.
Heavy rains brought another round of flooding to the St. Louis region that was already recovering from record rains earlier this week, prompting firefighters to help dozens of people escape the floodwaters.
No injuries were reported from Thursday's flooding, but the St. Louis Fire Department said on Twitter it responded to 75 flooding-related emergencies and 60 people were rescued or helped to safety.
Among the rescues, the department said firefighters carried six children to safety from a daycare at Cornerstone Institutional Baptist Church, where 15 children and three adults reportedly were trapped.
The storms that began Thursday afternoon lasted for a few hours and dropped 2 to 4 inches of rain, according to early weather service estimates.
Earlier in the week, a storm system dropped more than 12 inches in St. Charles County and up to 10 inches in other areas on Tuesday and Wednesday. That prompted widespread flooding. Parts of southern Illinois also saw flooding after heavy rains.
MONSOON SEASON OUT WEST
Meanwhile, intense summer thunderstorms that drenched parts of Las Vegas late Thursday were part of a broad regional monsoon pattern that may repeat through the weekend, a weather service official said Friday.
"We're getting right into the heart of the most active part," said John Adair, a meteorologist at the weather service office in Las Vegas. "This is turning out to be a pretty active monsoon season, compared with the last five years or so. There's plenty of more opportunities for thunderstorms to develop."
In Arizona, parts of the Hualapai Mountains in Mohave County have received up to 6 inches of rain in recent days, Adair said. The National Weather Service said parts of Arizona could expect 1 to 2 inches of rain per hour before a flood watch expired this morning.
Parts of the state, including the towns of Heber, Show Low, Bellemont and Prescott, are near or above 200% of normal rainfall so far during the monsoon, which started June 15 and runs through September. The weather pattern is hit-and-miss, though, meaning some places like Payson are far below normal.
While only 0.3 inch of rain was registered at the Las Vegas airport late Thursday, more than 1 inch fell just 1 mile away at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Adair said.
Nearby wind gusts peaked at 71 mph and toppled trees. Pea-sized hail fell from lightning-streaked skies in suburban Henderson, where almost 1 inch of rain fell in some areas.
Police, county and city officials and the weather service said no injuries or widespread damage was reported.
Las Vegas firefighters responded to 330 calls for service and swift-water teams rescued seven people between 9 p.m. and midnight, city spokesman Jace Radke said. Clark County firefighters responded to six water rescue calls, county spokeswoman Stacey Welling said.
While the rain is welcome in a region gripped by drought, it creates headaches for neighborhoods where wildfires have stripped the land of vegetation, which normally slows and partially absorbs floodwaters.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said Thursday that FEMA has granted a request to include effects of flooding and mudslides in certain counties hit by massive wildfires this year in the state's disaster declaration.
The surface level at the region's drought-stricken water supply -- the Lake Mead reservoir behind Hoover Dam on the Colorado River -- has dropped to less than 30%.
Information for this article was contributed by Dylan Lovan, Bruce Schreiner, Matthew Brown, Rebecca Reynolds, Timothy D. Easley, Sarah Brumfield, Ken Ritter, Felicia Fonseca and staff members of The Associated Press.
Employees of the Hindman Settlement School clean out the offices of the school following flooding in Hindman, Ky., Friday, July 29, 2022. Water reached a height of approximately 4 and a half feet in the school. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
Members of the Winchester, Ky., Fire Department walk inflatable boats across flood waters over Ky. State Road 15 in Jackson, Ky., to pick up people stranded by the floodwaters Thursday, July 28, 2022. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
A man prepares to launch a boat near flooded Wolverine Road in Breathitt County, Ky., on Thursday, July 28, 2022. Heavy rains have caused flash flooding and mudslides as storms pound parts of central Appalachia. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear says it's some of the worst flooding in state history. (Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader via AP)
Home and structures are flooded near Quicksand, Ky., Thursday, July 28, 2022. Heavy rains have caused flash flooding and mudslides as storms pound parts of central Appalachia. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear says it's some of the worst flooding in state history. (Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader via AP)
Homes are flooded by Lost Creek, Ky., on Thursday, July 28, 2022. Heavy rains have caused flash flooding and mudslides as storms pound parts of central Appalachia. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear says it's some of the worst flooding in state history. (Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader via AP)
Homes are flooded by Lost Creek, Ky., on Thursday, July 28, 2022. Heavy rains have caused flash flooding and mudslides as storms pound parts of central Appalachia. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear says it's some of the worst flooding in state history. (Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader via AP)
Homes are flooded by Lost Creek, Ky., on Thursday, July 28, 2022. Heavy rains have caused flash flooding and mudslides as storms pound parts of central Appalachia. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear says it's some of the worst flooding in state history. (Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader via AP)
A truck drives along flooded Wolverine Road in Breathitt County, Ky., on Thursday, July 28, 2022. Heavy rains have caused flash flooding and mudslides as storms pound parts of central Appalachia. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear says it's some of the worst flooding in state history. (Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader via AP)
A compact track loader clears mud from a flooded road Friday in Hazard, Ky. President Joe Biden declared a federal disaster for more than a dozen Kentucky counties. (The New York Times/Austin Anthony)
A church sits in floodwater from Troublesome Creek in Breathitt County, Ky., on Friday. (The New York Times/Austin Anthony)
Heather Robertson (center) and her mother, Anita Henson, talk worriedly about Robertson’s missing sister Friday at Gospel Light Baptist Church in Hazard, Ky. (The New York Times/Austin Anthony)
Kenneth Neace pulls his son’s football shoulder pads from the remains of his home Friday in the Lost Creek community in Breathitt County, Ky. (The New York Times/Austin Anthony)Gallery: Aftermath of Appalachia flooding
