One Dead in Kentucky as Rainstorm Pounds the State

The authorities said they found a body in floodwaters in eastern Kentucky on Saturday, as a severe rainstorm pounded a swath of the South from Tennessee to Virginia.

Parts of Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia and Virginia were under flood warnings on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. Kentucky was being hit particularly hard, with intense rain and wind gusts of up to 60 miles per hour, the service said.

Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky said that his state would be under a significant flash flood threat until 4 a.m. local time, and that emergency responders were rushing to evacuate Jackson, a small city in the eastern part of the state.

About 30 miles southwest of Jackson, a man was found floating in floodwaters in an unincorporated area outside Manchester, Ky., said Clifton Jones, the chief deputy in the Clay County sheriff’s office.

The man, Donald K. Nicholson, 72, of Manchester, Ky., had been driving on Kentucky Route 80 but got out of his vehicle when the road became impassable, said Jason Abner, the Clay County coroner. Mr. Nicholson was swept several hundred feet, Mr. Abner said.

Governor Beshear wrote on social media that the state was “seeing widespread flooding across the state.”

Kentucky Route 160 was closed because of a landslide, and water levels in Elizabethtown, in the center of the state, were approaching record highs, Mr. Beshear said. He urged residents to stay off roads.

“Let’s remember to stay alert and be prepared,” Mr. Beshear wrote.

Parts of two dozen state highways were partially or fully flooded, according to the Kentucky State Police. Firefighters and emergency crews rescued people and pets from flooded buildings and stranded cars.

Rooms at the Jenny Wiley State Resort Park in Floyd County had been set aside for people who evacuated their homes , Mr. Beshear said. He urged people to exercise caution in traveling there.

Heavy rain was also bearing down on Virginia, with flash floods reported in the southwestern portion of the state, Gov. Glenn Youngkin said. In Virginia, severe flooding struck Hurley, an unincorporated area near the borders with Kentucky and West Virginia.

In Buchanan County, in western Virginia, emergency teams were rescuing stranded people late Saturday, said Lauren Opett, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.

In western Kentucky, more than five inches of rain had been observed by Saturday night, the National Weather Service said. Areas of southern Kentucky and northern Tennessee were also under a tornado watch until 1 a.m., according to the service.

“The storms are going to continue to advance east,” said Frank Pereira, a meteorologist with the service. “And with that there will be the potential for additional heavy rains and severe weather, including severe thunderstorms and perhaps a tornado or two.”

Judson Jones, Isabella Kwai and Adeel Hassan contributed reporting.