LOUISVILLE, Ky., July 16 (UPI) -- Emergency workers are continuing their efforts Thursday to locate at least five people "unaccounted for" after severe flooding in Kentucky, but say they're being hindered by downed phone lines, extensive damages and the increasing threat of more rain.
Four people have been found dead as a result of the storms this week that caused flash flooding. Emergency workers said three bodies, most recently a 22-year-old man who had been reported missing, have been recovered in hard-hit Johnson County, Ky. A fourth person was found dead from storm-related injuries in southern Indiana. Officials said they are looking for least five others, but an exact number isn't available. At least two of those missing were last seen being swept away by flood waters. Rescue efforts are being hampered by extensive damages, downed electrical lines and wild animals being driven out by flooding.
Kentucky State Police said it's difficult to characterize those who haven't been seen since before the storms as "missing" because the situation is so fluid. He said worried out-of-town relatives have contacted law enforcement about their missing loved-one, but he can not truly deem them missing.
"Many of those are probably better characterized as welfare checks, attempts to locate," said Capt. Sean Welch "It's obviously concerning the longer the time, but we're still in search and rescue."
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Herman Eddie May, 56, and 74-year-old Willa Mae Pennington were found dead as a result of the storm earlier this week in Kentucky. Flooding destroyed some 150 homes and damaged another 500 or so. In Indiana, a 67-year-old man was found drowned in Clark County, just over the Kentucky state border.
In West Virginia, a three-mile stretch of highway, was closed after a landslide caused by downpours. Officials said more expected bad weather could further hamper efforts to keep parts of state Highway 82 open.
Federal Emergency Management Agency representatives are expected to be in Kentucky early next week.
The National Weather Service said Thursday there is a strong chance of severe thunderstorms across the Midwest, including the upper Midwest and southeast states. Local forecasters said the threat of storms in Kentucky have diminished through the next few days, but some weekend storms may rumble through.
