Rivers rose rapidly across much of the Midwest and the South on Saturday, prompting water rescues, evacuation orders and road closures as a relentless storm dumped rain on the region.
The increased flooding, which was happening from Texas to Ohio, came after days of heavy rains and tornadoes that killed at least 15 people, including a 5-year-old in Arkansas and a Missouri firefighter. Forecasters warned that the floods might continue well into next week, with rivers not expected to crest in some places until Tuesday or Wednesday.
“We’ll be dealing with the river flooding the next couple days, even the next couple weeks in some places,” said Colby Pope, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Little Rock, Ark.
Emergency workers reported water rescues in Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri and Texas. Officials in Kentucky issued evacuation orders for two small towns, Butler and Falmouth, along the Licking River. And the National Weather Service issued flash flood emergencies for Memphis and the Little Rock area.
The storm has killed people across four states, including a 9-year-old boy who was swept away by floodwaters in Frankfort, Ky., and Chevy Gall, a firefighter with the Beaufort-Leslie Fire Protection District in Missouri, who died in a crash while driving to help rescue people from the floods.
Some of the heaviest rain so far has fallen in Arkansas and in southern Missouri. In Lonsdale, Ark., firefighters said on Saturday that they were trying to help 10 people and 65 horses evacuate a flooded horse training center. In West Plains, Mo., Mayor Mike Topliff said that some buildings had taken on water after several inches of rain fell in a few hours. He said there were nine water rescues in his city, and at least one person had died.
Precipitation intensity
Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration via Iowa State University. Note: All times are Central. By William B. Davis
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