Jul 31, 2022 - Politics & Policy
Kentucky governor warns bodies will be found "for weeks" after flooding

Members of the Morehead Fire Department conduct search and rescue operations on July 28, 2022 in Jackson, Kentucky. Photo: Michael Swensen/Getty Images
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear warned on Sunday that they will likely "be finding bodies for weeks" after severe flooding devastated the eastern portion of the state last week.
Driving the news: The death toll from the flooding had reached 26 as of Sunday morning, but Beshear told NBC's "Meet the Press" that he expects this number to grow.
- "With the level of water, we’re going to be finding bodies for weeks, many of them swept hundreds of yards, maybe a quarter mile plus from where they were lost," Beshear said.
- He added that efforts to recover more people have been complicated by the rain. More rain is forecasted on Sunday and Monday, according to The New York Times.
More details: It remains unclear just how many people are missing, Beshear said.
- In some parts of the region, Beshear said they did not have a "firm count of how many people were there to begin with" and the weather is complicating efforts to check on people.
- "It's going to take some time to get a firm grasp on (the number missing)," Beshear said.
- "We're doubling our National Guard," he added. "We're going to work to go door to door, work to find, again, as many people as we can. We're even going to work through the rain."