Kentucky Flooding From Heavy Rains Leaves 4 Dead, Gov. Andy Beshear Says

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Four people have been killed in Kentucky after thunderstorms triggered dangerous flooding, Gov. Andy Beshear said Saturday. With more rain in the forecast, the governor issued a state of emergency.

The National Weather Service said flash flood warnings remained in place Saturday across portions of Kentucky and Indiana as heavy downpours continued to affect the region.

By late Saturday afternoon, the weather service reported that some communities in southwestern Indiana had already received between 4 and 10 inches of rain, with additional rainfall still possible. Beshear’s office said parts of Kentucky could see as much as 7 inches of rain through late evening.

In a social media update, Beshear said three of the deaths occurred in Madison County, while a fourth was reported in Jackson County.

Two victims, identified only as a man and a woman, were discovered dead inside their home after floodwaters overwhelmed part of Richmond, Kentucky, leaving residents trapped in their houses, according to the Madison County coroner’s office.

The coroner’s office said another person was recovered from a vehicle that became stranded in floodwaters on Tates Creek Road near Lexington.

Madison County Deputy Coroner Carlos Coyle said search-and-rescue crews were moving through the hardest-hit neighborhoods, checking homes door to door for additional victims. Some locations, he noted, remained unreachable.

Beshear also said on social media that Madison County had “significant roads underwater.” At least 12 state roads were also “out of commission” because of flooding, he said.

“This is a serious flooding event, where teams have already had to conduct multiple water rescues from vehicles and homes across the commonwealth,” he said in a separate statement. “As more heavy rain continues through late tonight, we need folks to remain alert and to avoid driving, especially after dark when there is limited visibility.”

In northwest Kentucky, just outside Louisville, Bullitt County emergency management officials asked residents of a rural road to evacuate as a precaution after a landslide at a dam embankment. The dam was holding, and there was no indication of imminent failure, they said.

The area saw about 3 inches of rain in the past two days, according to the National Weather Service.