Kentucky Officials Warn of Historic Flooding As Rivers Continue To Rise After Days of Rain

 Ron Brackett

Published: March 1,2021

Even as rain moved out of the Ohio and Tennessee valleys on Monday, many rivers were still rising and nearing flood stage, causing problems in Kentucky, West Virginia and Tennessee.

A flood warning was issued for the Kentucky River near Ravenna in Estill County until Thursday afternoon. The river had already reached 36.5 feet and was expected to crest at 38.5 feet, according to the National Weather Service. Flood stage is 21 feet.

"This will be a historical flood! If you live in flood prone areas evacuate now," the Estill County Emergency Management Agency warned in a Facebook post.

The South Fork of the Kentucky River at Booneville reached 44.27 feet at 2 p.m. Monday, more than 17 feet above flood stage.

The NWS also warned of flooding along the Licking River near Salyersville, Kentucky, where a nursing home was evacuated Sunday night, and on the Ohio River in several locations along the Kentucky-Illinois border.

Several communities in Kentucky and West Virginia experienced flooding Sunday night and Monday morning that entered homes and numerous motorists had to be rescued from swamped cars.

"There were people that woke up this morning and their houses were completely surrounded by water," Melissa Riddell, spokeswoman for the Estill County EMA, told the Lexington Herald-Leader.

As of Monday morning, some areas of Kentucky had received more than 6 inches of rain in the past 48 hours.

Kentucky's Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency. In a news release, the governor said 13 counties and cities had declared states of emergency by Monday morning, including Breathitt, Calloway, Casey, Elliott, Estill, Johnson, Knott, Magoffin, Owsley, Perry and Pike counties and the cities of Paintsville and Salyersville.

High water left 11 people stranded at a church in Cross Lanes, West Virginia, Monday morning, WCHS reported. A water rescue team was on the way to the church about 8 a.m., the station said.

The National Guard was called in to help move patients of Salyersville Nursing and Rehabilitation in Salyersville, Kentucky, about 9 p.m. Sunday night, WYMT reported. Salyersville Mayor Pete Shepherd said 91 people were evacuated from the home. Patients were taken to a middle school or a hospital depending on their conditions.

In Wolfe County, Kentucky, the Hazel Green Volunteer Fire Department said it rescued about 15 people from flooded houses and vehicles, including a family of five that was spotted when a firefighter caught a glimpse of light from the family's cell phone.

Wolfe County Sheriff Chris Carson used a tractor with a front-end loader to move the family to safety, according to a Facebook post.

(FORECAST: How Long Will the South Stay Soggy?)

A large sinkhole opened in front of houses in Pulaski County, WKYT reported.

“With the soft ground conditions currently, I’m worried the heavy rain coming down is going to cause more slides and more sinkholes opening up and roadways washing out,” Aaron Ross, the Pulaski County emergency management director, told the station.

SPONSORED: 40% off sale at Land's End

Highway 550 was closed in both directions in Knott County.

“We have several spots here in the city that Highway 550 east and west is completely underwater,” Hindman Mayor Tracy Neice told WYMT.

A Rough Terrain Rescue crew takes mares and foals from a flooded barn on Sunday, February 28, 2021, in Elliott County, Kentucky.

The Rough Terrain Rescue group said it rescued mares and foals from a flooded barn in Kentucky's Elliott County on Sunday.

A National Guard swift water rescue team also helped evacuate homes in Dunlow in Wayne County, West Virginia, WSAZ reported.

More than 100 roads in West Virginia were closed because of flooding and mudslides, WSAZ reported. A mudslide shut down a lane of eastbound Interstate 64 in Cabell County.

Officials in Pocahontas County urged residents in the Marlinton area to leave as water inched closer to their homes, WVNS reported.

In the town of Alderson, West Virginia, officials were keeping an eye on the Greenbrier River, which is nearing flood stage.

In Tennessee's Dekalb County, four adults and an infant were rescued from a partially submerged truck that slid off a water-covered bridge, the DeKalb County Fire Department said in a Facebook post.

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.