FRANKFORT, Kentucky — Rivers rose and flooding worsened Sunday across the sodden U.S. South and Midwest, threatening communities already badly damaged by days of heavy rain and wind that killed at least 18 people. Even as the rain moved out of some of the hardest hit areas in Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky, water levels crept up in some communities, swirling into homes and businesses and submerging roads.

In Frankfort, Kentucky, rescue crews checking up on residents in the state capital traversed inundated streets in inflatable boats. Workers put up sandbag ramparts to protect homes and businesses and turned off utilities as the Kentucky River kept rising.

“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.

The river’s depth had risen above 47 feet Sunday and was expected to crest above 49 feet today to a potentially record-setting level, according to Frankfort Mayor Layne Wilkerson.

— The Associated Press