Ron Brackett and Jan Wesner Childs
Officials in Kentucky said flooding that inundated homes and businesses has reached historic levels in some areas.
"This is going to be one that goes into the record books," Kentucky Emergency Management Director Michael Dossett said in a news conference late Tuesday afternoon.
At least 49 counties had issued disaster declarations, according to Dossett.
"The water’s still high," he said. "This one is not over at this point.”
While some smaller rivers were receding, some larger ones were either holding steady or slowly rising as the volume of water drains down the watershed, weather.com senior meteorologist Jonathan Erdman said Tuesday evening.
Days of rain that dumped 4 to 7 inches across a wide stretch of the state pushed rivers to levels not seen for decades.
Dossett and Gov. Andy Beshear said the state had been in contact with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to seek federal aid. They said assessments would be made next week for both the flooding and an ice storm last week. Damage assessments for the ice storm were put on hold by the floods.
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Beshear toured some of the flooded areas earlier in the day.
“We flew over several areas where infrastructure was severely impacted, where bridges and or roads were out and, while the water had receded, you could see the damage that it had left in (its) wake," he said.
Local officials were working to provide assistance.
“I could just hear in their voices how much they are hurting for their people, who have had their homes destroyed," Beshear said.
State inspectors were on site at a dam along Panbowl Lake, which connects to the North Fork of the Kentucky River.
Mandatory evacuations were ordered for a neighborhood and a mobile home park along the lake in Jackson, Kentucky. Beshear said about 1,000 people were affected.
Lee County's director of Emergency Management, Jon Allen, explained in an earlier Facebook post that flooding on the North Fork was causing some erosion on the dam, and it was pushing water into the neighborhoods along it.
Allen said officials did not expect the dam to fail. He said as a precaution, a nursing home near the lake had moved residents to the upper floor. National Guard members and school buses were standing by to evacuate residents if that became necessary, Allen said.
“One lesson that I have learned this year is that no matter how much you want to, you can never press the pause button because whatever is coming the next day is coming and you have to be ready for it and you have to be prepared for it and you have to be there for your people,” Beshear said during an earlier news conference Tuesday morning.
Fast-moving floodwaters from the Red River on Monday gave people in Clay City little time to gather what belongings they could and flee.
“It was like a river coming through. It was washing off of mountains, and it was coming, there was no stopping it. It was just awful. Water going up in the houses. People up on roofs. It was bad,” Pamela Gross, who was evacuated from her home, told WKYT.
The water was inches from Jennifer King's home when she grabbed what she could.
"Just blankets and basically a change of clothes and food for the dogs and our medication," King told WLEX. "We just had a fire last year. We lost everything and now it might happen again," she said.
The Red River spilled from its banks as it rose to 25.69 feet on Monday, more than 8½ feet above flood stage. Firefighters and rescue crews used boats to rescue about 80 people, WKYT reported.
A boat was needed to move COVID-19 vaccines when the Health Department in Beattyville lost power, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said at a news conference. The vaccine, which has to be stored at extremely cold temperatures, was successfully moved to Wolfe County, said Beshear, who had declared a state of emergency.
Boats floated through Beattyville's streets, some under six to seven feet of water, Lee County Judge/Executive Chuck Caudill told WLEX.
The Middle, South, and North Forks meet to form the Kentucky River in Beattyville. Late Tuesday afternoon, the Kentucky River was at 31.9 feet, 11 feet above flood stage.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
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