Six missing in deadly Kentucky floods

Search teams in Kentucky are looking for six people missing after heavy floods that already killed two people.

Rescue crews are searching in heavy rain and mud in the state’s hilly Appalachian terrain, in the north-eastern area of the state.

Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear has declared a state of emergency to speed up recovery efforts.

The search area is eight miles (13km) long, in a rural area with only 1,200 residents.

Those missing range in age from 22 to 74.

On Tuesday flood waters had receded despite the area getting hit by heavy thunderstorms following the initial flooding.

Crews will continue searching ground they have already covered and start new searches using excavators and dump trucks, joined by the US National Guard.

Willa Mae Pennington, 74, is among the dead. Her grandson Scott Johnson, 34, was last seen wading through the water carrying her on his back.

Mr Johnson’s father Kevin said his son saved him, his uncle and sister as the flash flood hit their neighbourhood. Floodwaters washed him and his grandmother away after he successfully saved his nephew.

Many people were rescued from trees, and some may have been trapped in their homes. Authorities say more than 150 homes were ruined and some were mobile homes that were swept away from their foundations.

Herman Eddie May, 65, is the second casualty, said Johnson county coroner JR Frisby. He was driving in a sport-utility vehicle and was swept away in his car.

Emergency dispatchers say more rain in the area will hamper search efforts.