Task Force 1 gets Kentucky mission assignment

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

An urban search and rescue team based in Columbia has received its first assignment in flood-ravaged eastern Kentucky.

Missouri Task Force 1 was sent to the region over the weekend after heavy rains led to flooding that has killed more than two dozen people. The team, based at the Boone County Fire Protection District headquarters, was on search missions near Jackson, Kentucky, in Breathitt County, on Monday, according to a fire district Facebook post.

"This area has been hit hard by record flooding and numerous people are unaccounted for," the post reads. "This area is very rough mountainous terrain and the team is working hard."

The task force is also sending two cadaver dog teams after a FEMA request, with 47 team members total deployed. Two other task force members are part of a FEMA team in Hazard, Kentucky.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has said he expects the death toll to rise and that crews might be finding bodies for weeks. Thousands of people remain without power, as well.