The intense flooding conditions due to severe storms in the US are likely to have a detrimental impact on interstate commerce. Flooding across the corridor, including major cargo hubs in Louisville, Kentucky, and Memphis, may hinder trade and commercial activities.
Flooding and tornadoes in the US have claimed 16 lives so far as the South and Midwest in the US faced another round of torrential rain and flash flooding on Saturday, which are already waterlogged by days of severe storms that also spawned deadly tornadoes. Among the 16 dead in weather-related deaths, 10 belong to Tennessee. According to the National Weather Service, dozens of locations in multiple states are likely to reach major flood stage, with extensive flooding of structures, roads, bridges and other critical infrastructure possible.
From Texas to Ohio, continuous rains have pounded the central US, ultimately swelling waterways and prompting flash flood emergencies. Earlier in the week, tornadoes destroyed entire neighbourhoods and were responsible for at least seven of the deaths.
A 57-year-old man died on Friday evening after getting out of a car that washed off a road in West Plains, Missouri.
Flooding killed two people in Kentucky — a 9-year-old boy swept away that same day on his way to school and a 74-year-old whose body was found Saturday inside a fully submerged vehicle in Nelson County, authorities said.
Also on Saturday, a 5-year-old died at a home in Little Rock, Arkansas, in a weather-related incident, according to police. No details were immediately provided.
The flooding has impacted interstate commerce, as 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 metres) in 24 hours and would continue to swell for days. “We expect this to be one of the top 10 flooding events in Louisville history,” he said.
(With inputs from AP)
