Millions across Midwest and South reeling from widespread flooding as storm death toll rises to 21

Heavy rain will drench the Northeast on Monday as several states are reeling from last week’s powerful spring storms that unleashed major flooding and left at least 21 people dead.

Last week’s storms wreaked havoc over the Midwest and the mid-South and later turned east. One person died in Arkansas, two in Kentucky, two in Georgia, two in Indiana, three in Missouri, 10 in Tennessee and one in Mississippi. 

On Monday morning, millions are waking up to flooding, and 9 million people are under a flood watch across portions of Georgia and eastern Alabama. 

In Louisville, Kentucky, river levels rose 5 feet in just 24 hours. In Owensboro, Kentucky, a levy broke, sending water into fields. Meanwhile, in Dawson Springs, Kentucky, rising waters reached a substation, causing authorities to cut power. 

Kentucky has been hard hit by the storms. In Anderson County, mandatory evacuations were issued for low-lying communities near the Kentucky River after the region received more than 7 inches of rain since Thursday and multiple feet of flooding. The local fire department said it rescued more than 40 people from the floods over the weekend. 

Chad Womack, assistant chief of the Anderson County Fire Department, told NBC affiliate WLEX of Lexington that some locals have “lost everything they’ve had” and called the flooding “one of those once-in-a-generation types storms that you may never see again.”

Since Wednesday, there have also been 93 preliminary tornadoes, and crews are now working around the clock to help communities clean up. Saturday also marked 10 consecutive days with a tornado — the earliest in the year the U.S. has hit that mark. 

Flooding still poses a major threat, as some rivers are expected to crest until midweek. NBC’s Al Roker forecasts that some of the worst flooding will be in the Arkansas River, Mississippi River, Tennessee River and Ohio River.

As of Monday morning, 19 river locations are in a major flood stage; 40 other river gauges are forecast to rise into a major flood stage Monday. 

Some of the hardest-hit communities impacted by flooding so far include Hardy, Arkansas; Columbus, Indiana; Dawson Springs, Kentucky; Mammoth Springs, Arkansas; and Frankfort, Kentucky. 

Kentucky has set a state record for the highest four-day rainfall. The Marshall County weather station, located 4 miles north of Benton, received 15.59 inches of rain in the four-day period ending midnight Saturday night. 

On Monday, a low-pressure system moving from the southern mid-Atlantic to the Southeast will bring widespread showers and thunderstorms, creating a moderate to heavy rain threat for portions of southeast Virginia to the central Gulf Coast, the National Weather Service said. 

The storm system will also create lighter rain across the Northeast, and some light to moderate snow across portions of New England.

Storms were already charging through Georgia on Monday morning, with radar indicating tornadoes south of Atlanta and near Blakely, Georgia.   

Through Monday evening, 1 to 2 inches of rain with locally higher amounts of up to 3 inches may be seen across Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.

The rain and flood threat will end by Monday night as the cold front moves offshore. 

Meanwhile, a series of Pacific storms will bring unsettled weather to the Pacific Northwest and the northern Rockies through the midweek, bringing rain to coastal locations and snow to higher elevations.