12 died as significantly severe weather, flash floods tearing through parts of us

Relentless, life-threatening weather conditions continued into Sunday across several states, including the threat of severe flooding in Memphis, Tennessee and Little Rock, Arkansas and Tornado watches in Louisiana, Alabama and Georgia.

Since Wednesday, at least 12 people have died in the midst of the outbreak of severe weather, including a 9-year-old boy in Kentucky, who was swept away by flooding water as he went to a bus stop, and more people killed in southwestern Tennessee after a strong EF-3-Tornado tore through the town of Selmer.

Arkansa’s Division of Emergency Management confirmed the state’s first storm-related death-a 5-year-old child found in a home in Southwest Little Rock. The agency provided no other details of the child’s death, but said it was related to the ongoing serious weather in Arkansas. “

In Missouri, a 16-year-old firefighter, who responded to a reported hiking, died in a vehicle accident Friday in Beaufort, about 60 miles west of St. Louis, according to Beaufort-Leslie Fire Protection District and a Missouri State Highway Patrol Crash Report.

The firefighter was identified as Chevy Gall.

“Tonight is a fire manager’s worst nightmare,” Beaufort-Leslie Fire Protection District Chief Terry Feth in a statement Friday. “We are the heart bridge of the loss of one of our own.”

Earlier this week, Missouri authorities said another local fire manager, 68-year-old Garry Moore, died while helping a stranded driver on Wednesday. Moore was head of Whitewater Fire Protection District.

Overall, the death toll stands at five in Tennessee; Three in Missouri; Two in Kentucky; And one in Indiana and Arkansas.

On Saturday, the last day was expected with a flooding event with several days that have created destruction across parts of the lower and mid-missippi River Valley, which remains at a high risk of flooding. ·

From Sunday, at least 18 river meters were in major floods from Arkansas to Indiana. Up to 50 river meters are expected to reach a major flood stage in Mid-South and Midwest this week.

Sunday morning flood warnings stretched from Louisiana to western Pennsylvania, including major cities such as Atlanta, Nashville, Memphis, Birmingham, Louisville, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.

The heavy rain was expected to move east to Sunday with the highest threat to flash flood in Alabama and Georgia including Atlanta and Birmingham. Locally, more than 5 inches of rain are possible in the south to Monday.

Since Friday, the highest rainfall was reported in East Memphis, where more than 14 inches of rain fell. In Memphis International Airport, more than 12 inch rain was registered, with the city registering its wettest April day on Saturday with 5.47 inches of rain.

From Saturday night, Memphis, Tennessee, remained during an emergency in Flash River as the latest round of stormy rain continues to sweep east over parts of Mid-South on Saturday afternoon.

National Weather Service said it was a particularly dangerous situation and that life-threatening flash flood was expected. An emergency in flash flood is the highest alarm emitted by NWS for a flash flood threat.

In Arkansas in the last few days up to a foot of rain has fallen – equal to approx. Three months of rain.

At Saturday night, an emergency was issued previously issued to the Little Rock area, and the worst of the heavy rain was over there. However, major flash floods continued in the region.

Another emergency in Flash River in northeastern Arkansas, including the cities of Cherokee Village and Hardy, was also canceled. Earlier Saturday, officials in the emergency situation passed on to the National Weather Service that several hikes were underway in the area that include parts of Lawrence and sharp counties.

According to state officials in emergency management, preliminary damage reports included in Arkansa’s floods on roads, abandoned trees and power lines, hiking and damage from a possible tornado near the city of Wynne. National Weather Service has not yet confirmed the tornado.

Although the threat to severe storms will gradually reduce over the weekend when the stationary front is slowly pushing east, more troubled weather will continue to break beyond the areas already severely affected by tornados and life -threatening flooding.

From Sunday there had been 91 reported tornadoes in at least 10 states from Kansas to Ohio.

On Sunday morning, Tornado brought warnings for areas, including Birmingham and just outside Atlanta. Serious thunderstorms could produce a tornadoes and damage straight line winds today from southern Louisiana to Alabama and Georgia.

On Monday, the serious risk moves into northern Florida, Georgia and into South Carolina. Harmful winds will be the greatest threat, but an isolated tornado cannot be excluded.

The threat to severe weather and excessive rainfall will ease on Sunday as this system begins to slip east. However, parts of Tennessee and Ohio River Valley could see another 3 to 6 inches before this frontal border moves out of the region completely by Monday.

Parts of the southeast were under a small risk (level 2 of 5) too severe weather, where storms were expected to generate harmful winds, hail and isolated tornadoes.

With that, thunderstorms that generate heavily rainfall (with speeds that potentially reach 2 to 3 inches per hour) can cause flooding of flash in prone areas. A good part of Georgia and Alabama as well as parts of Florida Panhandle, southern Mississippi and southeast Louisiana were at a small risk of flooding.

-ABC News’ Shawnie Caslin Martucci contributed to this report.