At Least 20 Dead From Heavy Rains, Tornadoes Across South And Midwest

4 weeks ago Days of unrelenting heavy rain and storms filled up rivers to near record levels across Kentucky on Monday, submerging neighborhoods and threatening a famed bourbon distillery in the state capital of Frankfort.

Swollen rivers posed the latest threat from a series of persistent storms that have killed at least 20 people since last week — 10 of them in Tennessee — as they doused the region with heavy rains and spawned destructive tornadoes. Teeming waterways kept the flood threat high in other states, as well, including in Tennessee, Arkansas and Indiana.

Cities ordered evacuations and rescue crews in inflatable boats checked on residents in Kentucky and Tennessee, while utilities shut off power and gas in a region stretching from Texas to Ohio. Floodwaters forced the closure of the historic Buffalo Trace Distillery, close to the banks of the swollen Kentucky River near downtown Frankfort.