Disaster record
Mid-South / Ohio Valley Flooding (April 2025)
Six months after the disaster 24 deaths $4.1 billion
Summary
A stalled front dumped days of rain across the Mid-South and Ohio Valley beginning April 2, 2025. By Friday, April 4, flooding led the national news. Hopkinsville, Kentucky, was underwater. Little Rock issued its first flash-flood emergency the next morning. Memphis had one that afternoon. Twenty-four people died in this storm system. Tornadoes that week are part of this disaster.
Twenty-four people died in this storm system, according to NOAA. That count includes tornado deaths. Tornadoes that week are part of this disaster.
Scientific attribution
The National Weather Service called the rainfall once in a generation. AP said warm air and Gulf moisture fed the storms. A World Weather Attribution study later said warming made the four-day rain about 9 percent heavier and about 40 percent more likely. That does not mean climate change was the only cause.
Apr 4, 2025 · Mid-South and Ohio Valley — Kentucky, Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Mississippi · flash flooding
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Messaging tallies
About these tallies
“Core Democratic Officials reviewed” shows how many of the 51 Core Democratic Officials have been examined for this disaster. Scoring rules: Methods.
Democratic framing
Summary
No Core Democratic Official named this flood in the seven-day window. Climate connection is no. Republican obstruction of climate action is no.
Kentucky, Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Indiana, and Ohio have no Democratic U.S. senators. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth sit in Illinois. No statement on this flood turned up.
Sen. Alex Padilla offered a FEMA amendment on April 4. It did not name this flood or the places hit. Sen. Ed Markey released a report on April 15 that named the early-April storms from Texas to Ohio. That was after noon on April 11.
Statements
- Ed Markey (U.S. Senator (D-MA)) — Apr 15, 2025 Out of window
Republican framing
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on April 5 that President Trump had approved Arkansas’s emergency declaration after storms, tornadoes, and flooding. She thanked Trump. She did not mention climate change.
Sens. Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul’s April 14 Kentucky disaster letter is after noon on April 11.
Statements
- Sarah Huckabee Sanders (Governor of Arkansas) — Apr 5, 2025
Sources
- Gallagher Re H1 2025 Natural Catastrophe and Climate Report — Gallagher Re
- Effective emergency management prevented larger catastrophe after climate change fueled heavy rains in Central Mississippi river valley — World Weather Attribution
- Deadly April rainfall in US South and Midwest was intensified by climate change, scientists say — Associated Press
- Assessing the U.S. Climate in April 2025 — NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
- Extreme Weather & Extreme Cuts: Senator Markey Releases Report on Trump’s Attacks on Disaster Preparedness and Resilience Efforts — Office of U.S. Senator Ed Markey
- Historic Rainfall & Flooding April 2-6, 2025 — National Weather Service Louisville
- President Trump Approves Emergency Declarations for Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee — FEMA
- Thunderstorms trigger catastrophic flooding across the middle of the US — CNN
- At least 16 dead in flooding and tornadoes as storms slash from Texas to Ohio — Associated Press
- President Trump Approves Arkansas’ Emergency Request Amid Flooding — Office of the Arkansas Governor
- South and Midwest pounded by rains and floods while still reeling from tornadoes — Associated Press