Communities in central US remain inundated with floodwaters days after deadly storms:
Communities across the central U.S. remained inundated with floodwaters Wednesday after a train of deadly storms dumped historic amounts of rainfall on the region.
Flood advisories and warnings abounded from Illinois and Ohio to Louisiana and Mississippi on Wednesday as floodwaters dumped into rivers and flowed downstream. About two dozen river gauge sites were at major flood stage, and 122 locations across the central U.S. were at or above flood stage, spanning multiple rivers and tributaries, according to AccuWeather.
In Kentucky, where at least five people died in the storms, the Ohio River is set to crest in Louisville, marking one of the ten worst flood events in the city's history. The storms were fueled by a stationary atmospheric river last week that spawned dozens of tornadoes and overwhelmed communities with up to 16 inches of rain in four days – a 100-to-1,000-year rainfall event, meteorologists said.
At least 22 deaths across Kentucky, Arkansas, Missouri, Indiana, Mississippi, and Georgia have been linked to the storms and the historic flooding.
Ohio River in Cincinnati to remain above flood stage for days
Stretches of Cincinnati near the Ohio River will remain under a flood warning until Friday, with forecasters urging residents to avoid roads submerged under floodwaters.
The Ohio River crested at just above 60 feet on Monday, according to the National Weather Service. Though the heaviest rainfall has come and gone, forecasters warned of high water and flooding impacts through the rest of the week.
Stretches of U.S. Route 52 are expected to flood, along with additional low-lying roads near the river. Backwater flooding is expected along the Little Miami, Great Miami, and Licking rivers, forecasters said.
The National Weather Service said the river level is supposed to fall below the flood stage by Friday.
Residents reel from floods: 'Everything is on my shoulders'
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Roy "Tommy" Stucker navigated the floodwaters by boat to his West Point home in far southwest Louisville, greeted by his wife, who stood on the front patio holding his 5-year-old son Tommy.
Nearby, crews from the Pleasure Ridge Park Fire District deployed their boat to check on the few residents who haven't already left Dixie Beach Road. Mother Nature has not been kind to Stucker and his neighbors the past week.
The waters — waist-high in some places — will only get higher with the Ohio River set to crest in the area Wednesday, but some residents have chosen to stay and brave whatever else happens overnight.
Stucker owns two homes on the street, where he supports his wife, mother-in-law, and six children. Even as floodwaters swallowed his street, he stayed home to care for his animals, making trips out for supplies as needed.
"Everything is on my shoulders, so generator goes out, everybody looks at me," he said. Read more here.
Killian Baarlaer, Louisville Courier Journal
Kentucky Gov. Beshear: Not all rivers have crested yet
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said at a news conference on Tuesday that not all rivers have crested across the state and that teams are being rerouted to areas where flooding and evacuations are possible over the coming days and into next week.
Beshear said while hard-hit areas like Frankfort are seeing water recede, other parts of the state may not have experienced the worst of the flooding. He said the Green, Kentucky, and Ohio rivers, especially near the cities of Henderson and Owensboro, could still trigger "significant flooding" and evacuations.
"We need everyone to stay alert and watch for high water," Beshear warned, urging residents not to drive through standing or running water.
Since the storms roared across Kentucky last week, the state has reported five deaths, over 140 water rescues, and thousands of power outages. Over 450 state roadways were closed as of Tuesday because of high water and mudslides, and more than 281 people were in shelters across the state, the governor said.
Flooding in Kentucky shuts down famous bourbon distillery
The Buffalo Trace Distillery, the country's oldest continuously operating distillery, has been closed for days as the staff waits for floodwaters to recede.
"At this time, the flood water levels are too high to provide a detailed assessment, but we can share that the flooding is extensive," the distillery said in an update posted on its Facebook page Tuesday. The statement said the distillery is expected to be closed through at least Thursday.
The city of Frankfort imposed a mandatory curfew over the weekend. On Monday, the Kentucky River, which runs through the center of town, was measured at 48.14 feet, about 17 feet above its flood stage and just shy of its 48.47-foot record.
Storms expected to hit rain-soaked parts of the central US
Parts of the central U.S. are still assessing the damage from last week's storms are in the path of another storm system threatening to unleash strong thunderstorms beginning Thursday.
An area of nearly 30 million people in Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and Kentucky is at risk of "severe scattered storms" capable of large hail, damaging winds, and bouts of heavy rain.
Such conditions could complicate ongoing recovery efforts, especially in particularly hard-hit areas such as western Tennessee and Kentucky, meteorologists warned.
Contributing: Jeanine Santucci, Paste BN
(This story was updated to add new information.)