Relentless rain and storms leave at least 20 dead in South and parts of Midwest

Days of unrelenting heavy rain and storms killed at least 20 people as some rivers rose to near-record levels and towns were inundated across an already saturated South and parts of the Midwest.

Cities ordered evacuations and rescue crews in inflatable boats checked on residents in Kentucky and Tennessee, while utilities shut off power and gas in a region stretching from Texas to Ohio.

"As long as I've been alive - and I'm 52 - this is the worst I've ever seen it," said Wendy Quire, the general manager at the Brown Barrel restaurant in downtown Frankfort, Kentucky, the state capital built around the swollen Kentucky River.