Parts of the United States are approaching their eighth straight day of extreme temperatures, even as other regions suffer through deadly floods.
Flooding in eastern Kentucky — in the south-east of the US — has caused at least eight deaths so far, with the death toll expected to reach double digits in coming days.
At the same time, in the nation's north-western state of Oregon, officials are concerned a prolonged heatwave could lead to more deaths than the previous shorter heatwave in June 2021.
More than 100 people were killed by the heat in Oregon last year.
The simultaneous weather events are the latest in a series to hit the US this year, as wildfires tear through California and Yellowstone National Park recovers from record flooding.
State of emergency declared as Kentucky floodwaters rise
The floodwater in Kentucky has yet to reach its peak and the damage could take years to repair, according to Governor Andy Beshear.
Mr Beshear declared a state of emergency in six of the state's 120 counties after a series of storms drenched the eastern part of the state.
"We are currently experiencing one of the worst, most devastating flooding events in Kentucky's history," the Governor said. "Hundreds will lose their homes.
"This is an ongoing natural disaster, with more rain expected tonight that could worsen the situation."
Among the dead was an 81-year-old woman in Perry County. Local authorities said several people remained unaccounted-for.
The flooding left 24,000 households without power, according to the poweroutage.us website.
Roads turned into rivers as high as the leaves of nearby trees, with power poles poking out of greenish-brown water.
The national guard and the state police used helicopters and boats to rescue people marooned by floodwaters.
Evacuation centres were opened, however, Mr Beshear warned that some of the facilities themselves were hard-hit by the storms and may not have power or some amenities.
Trucks have been dispatched to deliver drinking water to parts of the region.
Excessive heat warning issued in Oregon
Meanwhile, temperatures have run as high as 43 degrees Celsius in some inland areas of Oregon, sparking an excessive heat warning by the National Weather Service.
The forecast means Portland is likely to reach its eighth straight day of temperatures above 32C this weekend, a standard reached only four times on record, according to the Oregonian newspaper.
Three of those have been in the past 13 years.
Oregon officials said many victims of the 2021 heatwave lacked air conditioning, a feature less common there than in other, hotter states.
Large parts of the US have experienced extreme temperatures in recent days, which scientists said was exacerbated by climate change.
About 100 people took refuge in one Portland cooling centre on Wednesday night, said Mark Meininger, part of the volunteer emergency team.
Mr Meininger said the prolonged, lower-level heat this year might become more difficult for emergency managers and the public to contend with.
Last year's extreme temperatures saw dozens of cities smash their temperature records.
"Last year we just had record-setting, blasting heat," Mr Meininger said.
"What we have this year is an odd, cumulative consequence of hot weather that slowly gets people to realise they need to get out of the heat."
ABC/Reuters
