Rising rivers threaten US South and Midwest after dayslong torrent of rain

FRANKFORT, Kentucky — Rivers rose and flooding worsened Sunday across the sodden U.S. South and Midwest, threatening communities already badly damaged by days of heavy rain and wind that killed at least 18 people.

Even as the rain moved out of some of the hardest hit areas in Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky, water levels crept up in some communities, swirling into homes and businesses and submerging roads.

In Frankfort, Kentucky, rescue crews checking up on residents in the state capital traversed inundated streets in inflatable boats. Workers erected sandbag ramparts to protect homes and businesses and turned off utilities as the swollen Kentucky River kept rising.

‘‘As long as I’ve been alive — and I’m 52 — this is the worst I’ve ever seen it,‘’ said Wendy Quire, the general manager at the Brown Barrel restaurant in downtown Frankfort.

The river’s depth had risen above 47 feet Sunday and was expected to crest above 49 feet Monday morning to a potentially record-setting level, according to Frankfort Mayor Layne Wilkerson. The city’s flood wall system is designed to withstand 51 feet of water.

Forecasters said that flooding could persist as torrential rains lingered over several states. Tornado watches were in effect through much of the day Sunday in parts of Alabama, Georgia and Florida.

For many, there was a sense of dread.

‘‘This flooding is an act of God,‘’ said Kevin Gordon, a front desk clerk at the Ashbrook Hotel in downtown Frankfort. The hotel was open Sunday and offering discounted stays to affected locals, but Gordon said it could eventually be forced to close.

Storms cut a deadly path

The 18 reported deaths since the storms began on Wednesday included 10 in Tennessee. A 9-year-old boy in Kentucky was caught up in floodwaters while walking to catch his school bus. A 5-year-old boy in Arkansas died after a tree fell on his family’s home and trapped him, police said. A 16-year-old volunteer Missouri firefighter died in a crash while seeking to rescue people caught in the storm.

The National Weather Service said on Sunday dozens of locations in multiple states were expected to reach a ‘’major flood stage,‘’ with extensive flooding of structures, roads, bridges and other critical infrastructure possible.

In north-central Kentucky, emergency officials ordered a mandatory evacuation for Falmouth and Butler, towns near the bend of the rising Licking River. Thirty years ago, the river reached a record 50 feet (15 meters), resulting in five deaths and 1,000 homes destroyed.

The storms come after the Trump administration cut jobs at NWS forecast offices, leaving half of them with vacancy rates of about 20%, or double the level of a decade ago.

Floods force evacuations

A northwestern Tennessee town of about 200 people that flooded after a levee failure in February was almost entirely underwater on Sunday after the Obion River overflowed. Domanic Scott went to check on his father in Rives, Tennessee, after not hearing from him in a house where floodwater had reached the doorsteps.

‘‘It’s the first house we’ve ever paid off. The insurance companies around here won’t give flood insurance to anyone who lives in Rives because we’re too close to the river and the levees. So if we lose it, we’re kind of screwed without a house,‘’ Scott said.

For others that fled to higher ground, grabbing the essentials also meant taking a closer look at the liquor cabinet.

In Kentucky, with water rising up to his windowsills, Frankfort resident Bill Jones fled his home in a boat, which he loaded with several boxes filled with bottles of bourbon.

As of early Sunday, Memphis had received 14 inches (35 centimeters) of rain since Wednesday, the National Weather Service said. West Memphis, Arkansas, received 10 inches (25 centimeters).

The rain and fierce winds moved further east on Sunday, felling trees in Alabama and Georgia.

Forecasters attributed the violent weather to warm temperatures, an unstable atmosphere, strong winds and abundant moisture streaming from the Gulf.

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Izaguirre reported from New York. Kruesi reported from Nashville. Associated Press writers Bruce Schreiner in Shelbyville, Kentucky; Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas; Adrian Sainz in Memphis; Tennessee; Sarah Raza in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Obed Lamy in Rives, Tennessee; and Sophia Tareen in Chicago contributed to this report.