{O/C} {Good evening}
The epic flooding disaster is still bruising Kentucky.
The governor says it could take weeks to account for all those missing in the wake of the flash floods that have killed at least 19 across Appalachia.
But the worst is yet to materialise as rescuers are struggling to scour hard-to-reach areas.
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When push comes to shove, the National Guard is backing search and rescue teams across submerged Appalachian communities punched by flash floods.
Among the 16 confirmed fatalities, six are children.
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ANDY BESHEAR, Kentucky's Governor:
There's still a lot of people out there, still a lot of people unaccounted for. We are going to do our best to find them all.
Folks, that's (death toll) gonna...get a lot higher.
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Cadaver canines are also scrambling to look for bodies.
More rainstorms are on the horizon in the coming days.
The ferocious rain threw in the towel early Friday after whipping parts of eastern Kentucky with up to 10 inches of rain over 48 hours.
The gargantuan floods outran residents who remain marooned on steep slopes or in swamped homes.
Entire communities, homes, businesses and abandoned vehicles were annihilated.
Countless waterways, creeks and bayous began to overflow.
It's the latest in a spate of deluges that have rattled parts of the U.S. this summer.
Helicopters and boats are being used to search for the missing.
The governor and the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency toured the afflicted regions today.
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Hundreds of homes, their ballfields, their parks, businesses, under more water than I think any of us have ever seen in that area. Absolutely impassable, and numerous.
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President Joe Biden said in a tweet he had spoken with Beshear and pledged full support from the federal government.
He's also directed relief money to more than a dozen flood-engulfed Kentucky counties.
Meantime, the floods spilled over into western Virginia and southern West Virginia.
A state of emergency is now underway in six counties in West Virginia where the flooding uprooted trees, sparked power outages and clogged roads.
More than 20,000 utility customers in Kentucky and some 6,100 in Virginia remain in the dark.
For this woman, the unending wait for her missing dad is torturous.
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SHELLY WILSON, Kentucky Resident:
I just wish, you know, they would either find him or his body would be located. Unfortunately, it's just the not knowing and the fact that he's missing...It's just, excruciating.
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The flattened zone will entail at least a year to completely rebuild.
Dampened spirits notwithstanding, the governor left those who fled unscathed one adrenaline-boosting message.
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We love you, we can make it.
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