Kentucky Flooding Deaths Now at 35, But More Victims Expected as ‘Hundreds’ Remain Missing

United States authorities revealed that the number of Kentucky Flood deaths has risen to 35 and more victims are expected to be found as hundreds of residents remain missing.

On Monday, the death toll from last week's devastating flood rose to 37 after another round of severe storms threaten to bring further rainfall, high winds, and flash flooding to Kentucky residents who are still trying to find their footing.

Kentucky Flooding

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said during a Monday morning news conference that five days after the beginning of the flooding, a minimum of "hundreds" of people remain unaccounted for in the state. The death toll in the area is still expected to rise as search efforts continue this week.

In a video posted on Twitter, the Kentucky governor said that more rain, as well as the possibility of isolated flooding and damaging wind, is expected into Monday afternoon. The official encouraged residents to stay away from flooded areas and take shelter on higher ground, as per USA Today.

Beshear said that their goal moving into tonight is that everybody gets a safe place to stay in and sleep. He noted that they did not want to have to search for any people that are already in a safe area.

The situation comes as a Kentucky man was able to rescue five children and two of his former teachers from their flooded homes after receiving a message asking for help. Nathan Day was getting ready for work on Thursday morning when he received a message from a neighbor.

They asked him to save their grandchildren from the rising floodwaters that were threatening their lives. The former coal miner who lives in Hindman, Knott County, said that he was unaware of what was happening in the region until he received the message saying that children needed help getting out of their house.

According to CNN, Day and his wife, Krystal, had no boat, which forced them to wade through the water to help save the five children and two mothers who were stuck on the roof of their home. After the incident, the couple set their sights on rescuing Day's former high school English teacher, Ella Prayer, and his second-grade teacher, Irma Gayheart, who both lived nearby.

Dangerous Rainfall

Day said that he was pacing back and forth because he saw that the water was rising and knew that his two former teachers were probably trapped inside their homes. He then asked for help from three other neighbors to help check on his teachers, who both live alone.

The director of the Kentucky Climate Center at Western Kentucky University, Megan Schargorodski, said that the biggest danger that came with the flooding in the region is that most of the rain happened very quickly, very heavily, and overnight.

Furthermore, the geography of the region contributed to the devastation, with Appalachia's complex terrain causing waterways and low-lying areas to quickly become inundated. Schargorodski noted that many routes get blocked due to flood waters and it can sometimes actually be more dangerous to evacuate, NBC News reported.