2 Small Boys Among the 19 Dead From Torrential Rain and 90+ Tornadoes

Rivers rose and flooding worsened across the U.S. South and Midwest over the weekend as heavy rain and tornadoes killed at least 19 people. More than 90 tornadoes ripped through the nation's heartland. 

In Mississippi, residents say emergency text warnings gave them just seconds to escape with their lives. "Without it, my daughter and my grandson would have been in the room with no wall anymore," said Greg Griffin, whose home was destroyed by a tornado.  

Parts of Arkansas got more than a foot of rain. First responders in Texarkana were wading through floodwaters to rescue people from cars.

On one family farm, cattle could be seen trying to find higher ground.

In Grand Saline, Texas, Kamron Martin sheltered in his bathroom while the wall of his bedroom was ripped off. "I just imagine the pressure that it took to rip that whole wall off the side of the house," Martin said.

The town of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, was under water. At least a dozen residents had to be rescued from their homes.

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.
 
In Dyersburg, Tennessee, residents gathered in a shelter after the town received a third tornado warning Saturday afternoon.
 
Denise Morgan was one of them. "We decided to come here just to make sure we are safe from the tornado," Morgan said.

Fast-moving heavy rains are now bringing the threat of flash flooding to the East.  
  
Among the dead are a 9-year-old boy in Kentucky, who drowned while waiting for a school bus, and a 5-year-old Arkansas boy, killed when a tree fell on his family's home.