Although a fatal storm of tornadoes, terrible weather, and torrential rain has passed, cities in the Midwest and South are still in peril as enraged rivers continue to rise and drive families from their homes.
The severe weather has killed at least 25 people in seven states, including flooding in Kentucky and tornadoes and other extreme weather-related deaths in Tennessee, Missouri, Indiana, Arkansas, and Mississippi.
On Wednesday, April 2, one of those enormous tornadoes was caught on camera in real time.
As the supercell thunderstorm moved through towns like Lake City and Blytheville, forecasters issued a rare tornado emergency in response to the tornado hit northwest Arkansas.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was able to offer more assistance to communities struggling with the magnitude of the historic disaster when President Donald Trump authorized emergency disaster designations for Arkansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky.
In an effort to keep people safe, the National Guard, Kentucky State Police, and other state and local authorities have been working nonstop and have advised people to stay away from travel.
“This week we’ve had two rescues here in Frankfort by boat and 67 individuals were evacuated by boat from a hotel in Louisville,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said at a news conference on Tuesday.
According to Beshear, 87 vessels have been employed to assist in the 272 boat evacuations and 142 rescues that have taken place thus far.
The main issue, Beshear added, was the number of individuals still attempting to travel on state highways and roads. He brought up a tale from the local news about someone who had to be rescued after driving around a roadblock.
“When you do that, you not only put your life in danger, you put the lives of everybody who’s coming to rescue you in danger. We need people to wait this out.”
457 roads and highways have been closed throughout the state, according to Beshear, with 440 of them closed because of flooding and 17 because of mudslides and rockslides.
This week, devastating flooding forced the temporary closure of Frankfort’s Buffalo Trace Distillery, which is situated on the banks of the Kentucky River. The Mississippi, Ohio, and Kentucky rivers overflowed their banks due to days of unrelenting rain.
The filthy water around America’s oldest distillery still in operation was seen from above in a dramatic drone video.
“We will be closed through Thursday, April 10th at a minimum,” the distillery stated on social media. “As this is a rapidly unfolding situation, visits may be impacted beyond that time, and we will continue to provide updates as they are available. Due to the unprecedented and ongoing rain and flooding, we are not able to advise on the impact to our total distillery footprint.”
In the midst of the historic flooding, another drone video saw a Kentucky highway submerged.
The Hardin County Sheriff’s Office shared the video, which showed a highway in Glendale covered in the murky floodwaters from the neighboring Nolin River.
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Electrical lines can be seen standing in feet of water in the footage. Water lays across the roadway as the camera pans, and only the guardrails are visible as the yellow dividing line disappears into the abyss.
Flooding in Tennessee necessitates evacuations
Tennessee residents are being forced to evacuate because to the record flooding that has afflicted areas in the Ohio and Mississippi valleys.
Due to the severe flooding effects in the area, Dyer County Mayor David Quick issued mandatory evacuation orders for Cocklebur and the neighboring communities in Bogota.
Soldiers from the 230th Engineer Battalion supported Obion County EMA today by delivering 240 cases of essential goods from the Obion County Fairgrounds to the Community Center. These supplies are for citizens affected by the severe storms and flooding over the last 5 days. pic.twitter.com/Ln2DHQSwCk
— Tenn. National Guard (@TNMilitaryDept) April 7, 2025
All residents east of Highway 78 are subject to the evacuation order, which was issued on Facebook.
A dire warning was also included in the order: anybody who disobey the evacuation order risk not being able to get assistance from first responders. Residents may also be held personally responsible for any harm or damage they cause.
Those affected by flooding have also received assistance from the Tennessee National Guard.
Soldiers from the 230th Engineer Battalion were available to help the Obion County Emergency Management Agency on Monday by bringing 240 cases of supplies to the locals.
Source: foxweather
