More bodies continued to be recovered in eastern Kentucky after flash flooding wrought havoc on the region.
Gov. Andy Beshear on Saturday said at least 25 people have died in the flooding brought on by a two-day torrential downpour. Knott County has experienced the most deaths with 14, including four young siblings who perished in floodwaters after being swept from their parents grip.
Four people died in Breathitt County; Perry County reports three deaths; and Letcher and Clay counties report two deaths each.
It could, though, take weeks to locate and recover all of the fatalities associated with the devastating rain event.
“From everything we’ve seen, we may be updating the count of how many we lost for the next several weeks,” Beshear said. “In some of these areas, it’s hard to know exactly how many people were there.”
Over 1,400 residents have been rescued by helicopters or boats manned by Kentucky National Guard member. In many cases, private citizens rescued their neighbors using water craft.
Nearly 27,000 service connections have no water and nearly 30,000 residents are under boil water advisories, officials said. Almost 16,000 eastern Kentucky customers are without power.
“As crews are able to get in the severely damaged areas, they are reporting that entire sections of circuits are destroyed and will have to be redesigned and rebuilt,” Kentucky Power said in statement on Saturday. “Roads and terrain are so damaged to the extent that crews cannot rebuild in the same areas.
The region was deluged with between eight and 11 inches of rain in a 48 hour period, as portions of at least 28 roads in eastern Kentucky were/are blocked due to flooding or mudslides, Beshear said.
Hundreds of homes were swept away in floodwaters, leaving countless residents homeless.
Beshear said President Joe Biden approved his initial request for federal aid for the region to assist in recovery efforts.
“Federal funding is available to the commonwealth, eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency protective measures in the counties of Breathitt, Clay, Floyd, Johnson, Knott, Leslie, Letcher, Magoffin, Martin, Owsley, Perry, Pike and Wolfe. Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures for the entire commonwealth,” state officials said.
(Headline photo: Flooding in Hazard, courtesy of WYMT.com)
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
