text: A mother and child remain missing hours after their car was swept into a flooded creek in eastern Kentucky. Kentucky State Police Trooper Robert Purdy said the woman and child were stranded in their vehicle in high water around 9:30 a.m. Friday on a rural highway in Lee County. Around 11:30 a.m., the car was swept away and rescue workers lost sight of them. Scroll down for video . A missing mother and son are missing after their car was swept away by rising flood waters in Kentucky . Residents on two floors of an apartment building in Okolona, Kentucky, were evacuated by the fire department . Buddy Rogers, spokesman for the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management, said Lee County authorities requested a state police helicopter to help try to find them, but the weather was too bad for an aerial search. The Lexington Fire Department sent a swift-water recovery team to assist with the search. They have not yet been found. Authorities in Louisville, Kentucky, made more than 100 water rescues early Friday as a severe storm's persistent downpour flooded roads and prompted at least one evacuation. One-hundred sixty three water rescues had been made in the area since 1am Friday and residents continue asking authorities for help leaving their flooded homes, according to Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer. There was also a mandatory evacuation for the first floor of an apartment building in Okolona, Kentucky. Those living in first-floor apartments at the Guardian Court apartments were ordered to evacuate, while second-floor residents could decide to leave . More than 48 residents at the Guardian Court apartments had been taken out by boat, including second floor residents who were given to the choice to leave, according to WDRB. Half a foot of water had crept into homes in the building. The area had gotten seven inches of rain overnight, but no injuries were reported. Louisville's fire department was stretched thin, as a six-alarm fire at a GE supply building in Buechel, Kentucky drew more than 100 workers to battle the blaze. The city's zoo was closed because of a combination of the two events. The National Weather Service says a flash flood warning is in effect Friday morning for north central Kentucky. Up to two more inches of rain are expected throughout the day, according to WLKY. Winds up to 35mph and possible hail were expected for the afternoon. Red Cross officials made Louisville's Broadbent Arena, which was home to the city's ice hockey team, available for those who needed shelter. Dozens of vehicles were reported abandoned on the roadways. The Red Cross set up a shelter at Louisville's Broadbent Arena for those forced from their homes on Friday morning . Authorities in Louisville made more than 100 water rescues, including an estimated 48 at Guardian Court in Okolona (pictured) The Louisville fire department was put under more stress as it tried to balance water rescues with fighting normal fires . A man in shorts and sneakers holds an umbrella as rain comes down on Friday morning. The severe weather follows tornados in Oklahoma and Missouri as the storm system moves east . Water had flooded an underpass at the University of Louisville. No injuries had been reported from the flooding as of mid-morning . At least one road had been blocked by a mudslide and sections of I-64 in Indiana were closed. The  flooding in the Ohio River Valley comes as a severe storm moves eastward from Oklahoma and southern Missouri. Two semi-trailer trucks were seen blown over on Interstate 44 near Afton, Oklahoma, as many counties were on the lookout for tornadoes, according to the Weather Channel. The twisters were seen down in Oklahoma, Missouri, Kentucky and Kansas, though no major damage was reported. Fifty thousand people were estimated to have lost power in Wichita, Kansas. Severe weather expected in much of the southern US on Friday, with a storm front stretching from eastern Texas to western Virginia. Flash flood warnings were in effect for northern Kentucky on Friday morning, with more rain expected throughout the day . A front of severe weather was expected to move across the southern US on Friday, stretching from Texas to Virginia .
target: Police say the woman and child were stranded in their vehicle as the water rose around them .
  Around 150 water rescues as Kentucky residents continue to leave homes .
  Seven inches of rain pounded Ohio Valley as storms move across South .
  Dozens of vehicles abandoned as sections of the Interstate 64 closed .