19 fatalities reported across 6 states as floods continue to ravage Kentucky
At least 19 people were reported dead across multiple U.S. states, including Kentucky and Tennessee, as severe flooding continued on April 7, 2025, following a multi-day storm system that began on April 2.
Mudslide in Kentucky on April 4, 2025. Image credit: KYTC
Nineteen people have been reported dead as flooding continued across multiple U.S. states on April 7, including Kentucky, following storms that affected central and eastern parts of the country beginning April 2. Tennessee reported 10 fatalities, Missouri and Kentucky 2, while Arkansas, Indiana, Mississippi, and Georgia reported one each. The death toll is still expected to rise.
Several cities and states, including areas in Kentucky, were placed under a State of Emergency. One death occurred near the town of Boston, Kentucky, where the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office reported a 74-year-old driver was found dead in a vehicle following a water rescue call. The victim has not been identified.
A curfew was imposed in Frankfort from the night of April 6 into the morning of April 7. Boats were deployed statewide to carry out rescue operations. Multiple landslides were reported across the state since April 2.
Officials in Frankfort diverted traffic and shut off utilities to businesses as the river was expected to crest above 14.9 m (49 feet) on April 7, approaching a record-setting level, according to Mayor Layne Wilkerson. The city’s flood wall system is designed to withstand water levels up to 15.5 m (51 feet).
The National Weather Service (NWS) warned on April 7 that dozens of locations across multiple states were expected to reach “major flood stage,” with significant flooding of buildings, roads, bridges, and other key infrastructure possible.
In north-central Kentucky, mandatory evacuations were ordered for Falmouth and Butler, towns located near a bend of the Licking River. Thirty years ago, the river reached a record height of 15.2 m (50 feet), resulting in five deaths and the destruction of 1 000 homes.
A multi-hazard weather system brought heavy rainfall to several states last week and produced over 60 tornadoes across areas from Oklahoma to Ohio.
Rives, a town in northwestern Tennessee with approximately 200 residents, was nearly entirely submerged after the Obion River overflowed. All 95 counties in Tennessee were under a State of Emergency for most of the week.
Over the weekend, dozens of individuals arrived at a storm shelter near a public school in Dyersburg, carrying blankets, pillows, and other essentials. The city had reportedly been struck by a tornado a few days earlier.
In Jonesboro, Arkansas, the National Weather Service (NWS) reported that over 13 cm (5 inches) of rain fell on April 5, making it the city’s wettest April day on record.
Ongoing severe weather across the region has intensified flooding, worsened by the cumulative impact of previous storms.
Numerous roads across the region remain impassable due to river flooding and debris. Damage assessments are ongoing, including in Hot Springs, Arkansas, where floodwaters damaged a section of Highway 171—one of many impassable roads in the state.
Many of the affected areas have experienced repeated storms since the beginning of the year. Saturated soils from heavy rainfall have increased flood vulnerability, including in Tennessee, which has not fully recovered from the effects of Hurricane Helene in 2024.
References:
1 Kentucky 9-year-old boy caught by a flood on the way to his school bus is one of 18 dead in South after days of unrelenting rain – Fortune – April 7, 2027
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I am an Assistant Editor and Severe Weather & Science Journalist at The Watchers, specializing in real-time severe weather coverage, geophysical event reporting, and research-driven scientific analysis. You can reach me at rishav(at)watchers(.)news.
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