(Reuters) – Rescue teams searched on Monday for dozens of people believed missing after record downpours and flash flooding in Tennessee that left at least 21 dead, swept cars into ditches and washed away homes and buildings, authorities said.
A dispatcher at the Humphreys County Sheriff’s Office confirmed on Sunday the number of those killed and put the number of people missing at more than 50 as rescuers conducted house-to-house searches of the area.
The Humphreys County Emergency Management Agency listed the names of 26 missing people on social media, asking if residents have had contact with any of them.
A spokesperson for the county could not immediately be reached on Monday.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, a Republican, said at a press conference late Sunday that he would request emergency assistance from the federal government in the next few days after an initial assessment.
“This is still unfolding right now in a tragic and difficult situation,” Lee said. “This is a devastating flood with a tremendous loss of life.”
President Joe Biden told the media Sunday that “I want to begin by expressing my deepest condolences for the sudden and tragic loss of life,” adding that federal emergency officials will coordinate with the state to “offer any assistance they need for this terrible moment.”
Record rainfall of up to 17 inches (43 cm) drenched some areas, sparking massive flooding on Saturday afternoon and evening. Especially hard hit was the town of Waverly, about 55 miles (88 km) west of Nashville. Hundreds of homes were left uninhabitable.
Waverly Mayor Wallace Frazier told the Tennessean newspaper that those killed in the flooding ranged in age from babies to the elderly. The Washington Post, citing family members, reported that 7-month-old twins died after they were swept away from their parents’ arms.
(Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta; Editing by Dan Grebler)
