FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Withering heat descended on a region of eastern Kentucky already reeling from flooding, forcing residents laboring to clean up after the deluge to cope with an oppressive new threat.
The grim task of cleaning up from major flooding continued, but rising heat and humidity prompted officials to open cooling centers Tuesday as forecasters warned of the risk of heat-related illnesses and some residents remained without power.
"We're just fighting through this and hoping that this weather don't make it too stressful," said Jerry Stacy, the emergency management director in hard-hit Perry County.
A heat advisory was issued for flood-ravaged regions of eastern Kentucky from midday today until Thursday evening, with heat index readings expected to approach triple digits, the National Weather Service said.
"We've got to make sure that those that are vulnerable either have a cool place with family ... or that we get them to cooling stations," Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Tuesday. "We didn't make it through the worst flooding that we have ever seen in our lifetime to lose somebody now in the heat."
The death toll stood at 37 Tuesday after more bodies were found Monday in the devastated landscape, and while more than 1,300 people have been rescued, crews were still trying to reach some who remain cut off by floods or mudslides.
"It is absolutely devastating out there," Beshear said. "It's going to take years to rebuild. ... And we continue to find bodies of our brothers and sisters that we have lost."
On a positive note, Beshear said most of the people reported missing to Kentucky State Police had been found and cellphone service had been restored to much of the region.
In Perry County, search-and-rescue teams scouring debris-littered creek banks were expected to wind up their work by today, Stacy said.
The historic flooding that inundated communities in eastern Kentucky also hit areas just across the state line in Virginia and West Virginia, where some people also remained without power.
Beshear said about 7,500 customers remained without electricity in eastern Kentucky as of Tuesday afternoon.
As of Tuesday, nearly 430 people were staying at 11 emergency shelters, and 191 more were being housed temporarily in state parks, Beshear said.
Meanwhile, the flooding has forced some eastern Kentucky districts to delay the start of school. Several schools in the region were damaged, officials said, and the focus now is on helping families whose homes were damaged or destroyed.
Two of the Perry County district's nine schools suffered severe damage and one will likely have to be rebuilt because of a partial collapse," superintendent John Jett said.
In Knott County, Superintendent Brent Hoover said classes would be delayed until the district can assess damage at two schools and the technology center.
In Letcher County, Superintendent Denise Yonts said six of the district's 10 schools were damaged by flooding and two staff members died.
President Joe Biden declared a federal disaster to direct relief money to counties flooded after 8 to 10½ inches of rain fell in just 48 hours in parts of eastern Kentucky, southern West Virginia and western Virginia.
Information for this article was contributed by Dylan Lovan and Leah Willingham of The Associated Press.
A car lays overturned in Troublesome Creek in downtown Hindman, Ky., Sunday, July 31, 2022. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
Stockpiles of wood lay destroyed from the floodwaters of Troublesome Creek at the Applachian School of Luthery workshop and museum in Hindman, Ky., Sunday, July 31, 2022. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
Paul Williams inspects the damage to a dobro guitar damaged by floodwaters from Troublesome Creek at the Applachian School of Luthery workshop and museum in Hindman, Ky., Sunday, July 31, 2022. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
Isom IGA in Isom, Ky., was ravaged by historic floods last week. The store's inventory was spoiled by the flood waters. (Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader via AP)
A truck is washed away by floodwaters in the Troublesome Creek near Main Street, in Hindman, Ky., Monday, Aug. 1, 2022. The creek has started to recede, leaving business owners in the town to start cleanup efforts. (Amanda Rossmann/Courier Journal via AP)
Gwen Christian stands in an aisle at the Isom IGA in Isom, Ky., on Monday, Aug. 1, 2022. Christian began working at the store as a cashier months after it first opened in 1973. She now owns the store with her husband, Arthur. Last week, historic floods ravaged the store. (Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader via AP)
A bridge across Grapevine Creek to a home near Grapevine, Ky., is collapsed Monday, Aug. 1, 2022, following historic floods last week. (Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader via AP)
A bridge across Grapevine Creek at Chavies School Road in Perry County, Ky., is heavily damaged Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022, following catastrophic flooding last week. (Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader via AP)
In this aerial photo, some homes in Breathitt County, Ky., are still surrounded by water on Saturday, July 30, 2022, after historic rains flooded many areas of Eastern Kentucky killing multiple people. A thin film of mud from the retreating waters covers many cars and homes. (Michael Clevenger/Courier Journal via AP)