A search and rescue team wades through Troublesome Creek in Eastern Kentucky, searching for flood victims in an area jumbled with debris on July 31, 2022. (Jeff Faughender / The
The late-July storms that devastated St. Louis and Eastern Kentucky helped showcase the risks wrought by a climate that is growing hotter and wetter –- and more prone to dumping massive rains and flash flooding on communities whose creeks, streams and drainage systems are not equipped to handle such volatile waters. The shifting trends raise urgent questions about society’s readiness to cope.