Kentucky floods kill 3, death toll may reach double digits, governor says

A series of storms drenching the eastern part of the state have dropped water that has yet to crest, leaving damage that could take years to repair, said Beshear, who declared a state of emergency in six counties on Thursday morning. "We are currently experiencing one of the worst, most devastating flooding events in Kentucky's history, Beshear said in his emergency declaration.

Flooding in eastern Kentucky has caused at least three deaths, Governor Andy Beshear said on Thursday, and the death toll may reach double digits as water continues to rise. A series of storms drenching the eastern part of the state have dropped water that has yet to crest, leaving damage that could take years to repair, said Beshear, who declared a state of emergency in six counties on Thursday morning.

"We are currently experiencing one of the worst, most devastating flooding events in Kentucky's history, Beshear said in his emergency declaration. "Hundreds will lose their homes."

The governor said two people in Perry County and one in Knott County had died. One of the Perry County deaths was an 81-year-old woman. The flooding left 23,000 households without power, and "a number of people" were unaccounted for, he said.

There was a 40 percent chance that the hard-hit area around the city of Hazard in the Cumberland Mountain foothills in Appalachia would continue to see heavy rain and storms through the night on Thursday, and an 80% chance on Friday, the National Weather Service said. The region remains under a flood warning.

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