The river has risen, exacerbated flooding Sunday, worsening south and Midwest flooding, threatening communities already severely damaged by torrential rain and wind days that have killed at least 18 people.
Despite rainfall from some of Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky’s most intense hit areas, water levels creep up in some communities, swirling homes and businesses, and roads submerged.
In Frankfort, Kentucky, rescuers checking residents of the state’s capital crossed an influxed street in an inflatable boat. Workers have built punching bag walls to protect their homes and businesses, turning off the utility as the swollen Kentucky River continues to rise.
Ryan C. Hermans/Lexington Herald Leader/Tribune News Service Getty Image
The Kentucky River will flood Monterey, Kentucky on Sunday, April 6, 2025.
“As long as I’m alive and as long as I’m 52, this is the worst I’ve ever seen,” said WendyQuia, general manager of Brown Barrel Restaurant in downtown Frankfort.
The river was expected to rise above 47 feet Sunday and to record levels above 49 feet Monday morning, according to Frankfort Mayor Rain Wilkerson. The city’s flood wall system is designed to withstand 51 feet of water.
Forecasters said floods could last as heavy rain remained in some states. The tornado clock was in effect throughout most of Sunday in parts of Alabama, Georgia and Florida.
For many, there was a sense of fear.
“This flood is an act of God,” said Kevin Gordon, a front desk clerk at the Ashbrook Hotel in downtown Frankfort. The hotel was open on Sunday and offered discounted stays to affected locals, but Gordon said it could eventually be forced to close.
The storm cut a fatal road
Tennessee’s 10 reported 18 deaths since the storm began on Wednesday included 10. The 9-year-old Kentucky was caught in a flood while walking to board a school bus. The 5-year-old Arkansas boy died after a tree fell into his family home and locked him up, police said. A 16-year-old volunteer Missouri firefighter was killed when he crashed while trying to rescue people caught in the storm.
The National Weather Service is expected to see dozens of locations in multiple states reach “major flood stages” on Sunday, with widespread flooding of structures, roads, bridges and other critical infrastructure.
In northern Kentucky, emergency authorities ordered forced evacuations of Falmouth and Butler, towns near the corner of the rising Fari River. Thirty years ago, the river reached a record 50 feet (15 meters), killing five people and destroying 1,000 homes.
The storm comes after the Trump administration cut jobs at the NWS forecast office, leaving half of it with a vacancy rate of about 20% or twice the level it was a decade ago.
Flood forces evacuation
The northwest Tennessee town of about 200 people flooded after a levee breakdown in February was almost completely underwater on Sunday after the Obion River flooded. Domanic Scott went to check out his father in Libbs, Tennessee, after he hadn’t heard from him at the house where the flood reached the doorway.
The Wolf River in Germantown was climbed at 25.29 feet a few hours ago. This is the fourth highest crest on record. The river overflows the fields south of Agrister. #TNWX pic.twitter.com/nnd48scfmj
– NWS Memphis (@nwsmemphis) April 6, 2025
“This is the first home we’ve ever paid off. Insurance companies around here don’t give flood insurance to anyone living in Rives because we’re too close to rivers and embankments.
For others who fled to the highlands, grabbing the essentials meant a closer look into the liquor cabinet.
In Kentucky, Frankfort resident Bill Jones fled the house by boat as water rose to the windowsill.
As of the beginning of Sunday, Memphis had been receiving 14 inches of rain since Wednesday, the National Weather Service said. West Memphis, Arkansas received a 10-inch (25cm).
Rain and heavy winds moved further east on Sunday, cutting down trees in Alabama and Georgia.
Forecasters attributed violent weather to warm temperatures, unstable atmospheres, strong winds and abundant water flow from the Gulf Coast.
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Izaguirre reported from New York. Kruesi reported from Nashville. Bruce Schreiner, an Associated Press author of Shelbyville, Kentucky. Andrew DeMiro of Little Rock, Arkansas. Adrian Sainz of Memphis. Tennessee; Sararaza of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Obedo of Ramie from Tennessee Lives. And Chicago’s Sophia Turrene contributed to this report.
