Unexpected floods have killed at least 23 people in the Appalachia region of eastern Kentucky - the terrible disaster there for decades. The climate pattern is out of hand as there was only the alert against heat waves a few days ago.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said he expected the death toll to continue to rise. He said hundreds of homes and businesses had been flooded.

President Joe Biden has declared the floods "a major disaster" and decreed federal aid to help local rescuers. Among the dead are at least six children, including a one-year-old.

Scientists say climate change is precipitating more extreme weather events like the Kentucky flooding. After an aerial tour with the National Guar.d, Mr. Beshear said the flood was "by far the worst" he had seen.

"There's still a lot of people out there, still a lot of people unaccounted for. We're going to do our best to find them all," he added, warning that it could take weeks to find all the victims.

Hundreds of people have been rescued by boat or helicopter. There is extensive poverty in affected areas, where at least 33,000 people now have no electricity. The flooding - after torrential rain - caused mudslides and made roads impassable.

Appalachia has had flash floods before, but not on this scale.e, Mr. Beshear said. "Folks who deal with this for a living, who have been doing it for 20 years, have never seen water this high," he said.

Mr. Beshear said it's unclear yet exactly how many people are affected or missing. Some areas have been impossible to reach due to damaged portions on 28 state roadway.

Source: The BBC