Heavy rains cause severe flooding in Appalachia

Heavy thunderstorms pounded parts of Appalachia on Sunday and Monday, sending rivers out of their banks and leading to multiple water rescues, mudslides, road closures and power outages, officials said, in areas of Kentucky, West Virginia and Tennessee.

Local authorities have declared a state of emergency Monday because of heavy rainfall across the state.

Authorities said 13 counties and cities had declared states of emergency and the Kentucky National Guard was activated and was assisting with high water emergencies.

In Magoffin County, Kentucky, the Salyersville Nursing and Rehabilitation center was among the places evacuated Sunday. The facility decided to evacuate residents to assure they remain safe, CEO Joshua L. Calhoun said in a statement to WYMT-TV.

He said residents were taken to either a middle school or a hospital.

Severe or moderate flooding was forecast Monday on several rivers in West Virginia and eastern Kentucky, including different locations along the Kentucky River southeast of Lexington, the National Weather Service said.

In West Virginia, flooding hit some areas that were ravaged by power outages from ice storms last month. Floodwaters inundated roads in more than a dozen counties, highways officials said.

Some schools closed or delayed classes because of flooding concerns and about 13,000 customers were without power in Kentucky and West Virginia, according to poweroutage.us, a utility tracking service.