 "17 killed in US as severe storms, flash floods hit Tennessee, Ohio, Kentucky and Arkansas")
Severe thunderstorms and flooding across the South and Midwest United States have claimed the lives of at least 17 people including children since Wednesday, according to media reports.
The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued warnings of further “severe” flash flooding in the days ahead. A series of powerful storms stretching from Arkansas to Ohio have caused widespread destruction, damaging buildings, flooding roads and spawning dozens of tornadoes over the past week.
Tennessee has borne the brunt of the extreme weather, with state officials confirming that 10 people have died in the western region alone.
There were 521 flights cancelled and more than 6,400 flights delayed within the U.S. or coming into or leaving the country on Saturday, according to FlightAware.com, which reported 74 cancellations and 478 delays of U.S. flights early Sunday.
Interstate commerce could also be affected. The extreme flooding across a corridor that includes the major cargo hubs in Louisville, Kentucky, and Memphis could lead to shipping and supply chain delays, said Jonathan Porter, chief meteorologist at AccuWeather.
The outburst comes at a time when nearly half of NWS forecast offices have 20% vacancy rates after Trump administration job cuts, twice that of just a decade ago.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said Saturday that the Ohio River rose 5 feet (about 1.5 meters) in 24 hours and would continue to swell for days.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“We expect this to be one of the top 10 flooding events in Louisville history,” he said.
With inputs from agencies
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