At least 22 people were killed and 50 others remained missing on Sunday after catastrophic flash floods swept through Middle Tennessee, the authorities said.
Rob Edwards, the chief deputy of the Humphreys County Sheriff’s Office, confirmed the numbers of dead and missing on Sunday and said the authorities were doing house-to-house checks in the hardest-hit areas in Humphreys, a rural county of about 18,500, roughly 72 miles west of Nashville.
“Things are moving fast and we are finding people left and right,” Deputy Edwards said in an email, adding that he expected the death toll to rise.
Among those killed were several children, including twin 7-month-olds, he said
In an interview on Sunday morning with the television station WKRN, Mayor Buddy Frazier of Waverly, Tenn., the seat of Humphreys County, said that assessments of the damage were continuing and that the number of homes lost was “staggering.”
He said that residents had minimal time to protect themselves from the floodwaters.
“Some of them described it as a tidal wave,” Mr. Frazier said. “It just caught everyone totally off guard yesterday.”
McEwen, Tenn., which is also in Humphreys County, recorded 17 inches of rain on Saturday, which the National Weather Service said on Twitter would set a record for the most rainfall in a 24-hour span in Tennessee if preliminary estimates were confirmed. The previous record, set in Milan, Tenn., in 1982, was 13.6 inches.
On Saturday, Deputy Edwards said that the search for victims was being hampered by the widespread loss of power and cellphone service.
Portable communication units were being brought in to help restore service, he said.
“We have lost a lot of roads, both rural and major highways,” he said. “In my 28 years, it’s the worst I’ve ever seen it.”
President Biden, in an address on Sunday, said: “I want to begin by expressing my deepest condolences for the sudden and tragic loss of life due to this flash flood. I’ve asked the administrator to speak to Governor Lee of Tennessee, right away, and will offer any assistance they need for this terrible moment.”
The loss of life came as other parts of the South were still reeling from a week of violent storms that brought heavy rainfall and tornadoes. In North Carolina, four people were killed and four others were still missing after flash floods wiped out homes in the wake of Tropical Depression Fred last week, the authorities said.
In Tennessee, the devastation came after an estimated eight to 10 inches of rain inundated Dickson, Hickman, Houston and Humphreys counties, the National Weather Service said on Saturday morning.
By Saturday night, officials were reporting that some areas had gotten more than a foot of rain.
Local news channels showed surging, mud-brown floodwaters submerging houses nearly to their roofs, washing across highways and flipping trucks and cars.
The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency said that the state’s Emergency Operations Center had been activated in Nashville to support water rescues and other urgent requests for help from local officials.
“Our first priority is to assist with getting responders access to the area and conduct rescue operations,” Maj. Gen. Jeff Holmes, the adjutant general of the Tennessee National Guard, wrote on Twitter. “We’ll continue to increase the number of forces as the situation dictates and we’ll be positioning additional specialty units to respond as needed.”
At least 4,200 people across the state had lost power, according to the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency. It said that flooding in the affected counties was “dangerous and evolving,” and it urged residents to stay off the roads, charge electronic devices and monitor the news.
“Do not attempt to cross flooded roads or walkways,” the agency said. “Turn around, don’t drown.”
The Meriwether Lewis Electric Cooperative said it could take several days to restore power and broadband service to the area.
The utility said that its office in Humphreys County had flooded and could be “a total loss,” and that trucks and equipment had been damaged. Most employees were unable to reach the office because of the flooded roads, the cooperative said.
“The safety and well-being of our communities, employees and rescue efforts are top priorities right now,” Keith Carnahan, the president and chief executive of the cooperative, said in a statement. “These are devastating conditions to work in, but our employees and their heart for service are ramping up for the long days ahead as our hometowns begin to heal.”
Waverly Elementary School in Waverly, Tenn., the Humphreys County seat, was “completely flooded,” with water “4 feet deep in the entire school,” according to its Facebook page.
Two women had been stranded in the school gymnasium with some of their family members, one post read. A later post said they were “no longer at the school and on dry ground.”
“Please continue to pray for our community!” it read.
Eduardo Medina and Neil Vigdor contributed reporting.
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