Floods in Tennessee have killed at least 21 people

A previous report reported that 16 people had died.

Tennessee was hit Saturday by what is described as “historic” by local weather services, resulting in deadly flooding.

At least 20 people have been killed in the town of Waverley in Humphreys County, local police chief Grant Gillespie told a news conference. A21^E No one was found dead anywhere else in the countryside, according to the same source, as the toll is likely to intensify further.

The county is a 1.5 hour drive west of Nashville.

Initially police reported forty people missing, but now we are talking about twenty people, including many children.

“The area in central Tennessee received between 22 and 43 centimeters of rain between 6 a.m. Saturday morning, and bad weather continued through the night, with the state’s so-called ‘flooding’ emergency agency calling it a disaster.”

Local officials from Waverley said the weather was connected to a hurricane or tornado and the waters rose so fast that people did not have time to seek shelter.

Three other counties were also affected. Cleaning operations are underway and “many bridges and roads in the affected area have been closed,” the statement said.

The Tennessee governor visited the site Sunday afternoon, the agency said.

“It’s almost like a tornado. Someone described it as a wave,” Waverley Meyer told local television station WKRN.

The pictures showed overturned cars and muddy streets.

At a news conference on Sunday, US President Joe Biden expressed “deepest condolences” and indicated that the government was “ready to provide assistance.”

“Our prayers are with all Tennessee residents affected by yesterday’s historic floods,” State House of Representatives Mark Green tweeted Sunday morning.