Search and rescue teams backed by the National Guard searched Friday for people missing in record flooding that wiped out entire communities in some of America’s poorest places. Kentucky’s governor said 16 people had died, a number he expected to rise as the rain continued to fall.
“We still have a lot of research to do,” said Jerry Stacy, the emergency management director for Kentucky’s Perry County. “We still have missing people.”
Powerful floods engulfed towns that hug creeks and streams in Appalachian valleys and hollows, inundating homes and businesses, leaving vehicles in useless piles and crunching runaway equipment and debris against bridges. Mudslides on steep slopes left many people stranded and without power, making rescues difficult.
Gov. Andy Beshear told The Associated Press on Friday that children were among the victims and that the death toll could more than double as rescue teams search the disaster area.
“The hard news is that there are now 16 confirmed fatalities, and that’s going to rise a lot,” the governor said during a late-morning briefing. He said the deaths occurred in four counties in eastern Kentucky.
Homes along the Gross Loop off KY-15 are flooded with water from the North Fork of the Kentucky River on July 28, 2022. Arden S. Barnes/For The Washington Post via Getty Images
Emergency crews made nearly 50 air rescues and hundreds of water rescues Thursday, and more people still needed help, the governor said. “This is not just an ongoing disaster, but an ongoing search and rescue. The water won’t rise in some areas until tomorrow.”
Determining the number of people missing is difficult with cell service and electricity in the disaster area, he said: “This is so widespread that it’s a challenge even for local officials to put that number together.”
More than 200 people have sought shelter, Beshear said. He deployed National Guard soldiers to the most affected areas. Three parks set up shelters, and with property damage so extensive, the governor opened an online portal for donations to victims. President Biden called to express his support for what will be a long recovery effort, said Beshear, who predicted it will take more than a year to fully rebuild.
“It’s the worst we’ve had in a long time,” Friley told WKYT-TV. “It’s all over the county again. There are several places that are still not accessible to rescue crews.”
Perry County dispatchers told WKYT-TV that floodwaters washed out roads and bridges and knocked homes off their foundations. The city of Hazard said rescue crews were out all night and urged people on Facebook to stay off the roads and “pray for a break in the rain.”
More rain lashed the region on Friday after days of torrential rain. The storm sent water pouring down hillsides and out of creek beds, flooding roads and forcing rescue teams to use helicopters and boats to reach those trapped. Flooding also damaged parts of western Virginia and southern West Virginia, a region where poverty is endemic.
“There are hundreds of families that have lost everything,” Beshear said. “And a lot of these families didn’t have much to begin with. And so it hurts even more. But we’ll be there.”
Poweroutage.us reported that more than 33,000 customers were without power Friday in eastern Kentucky, West Virginia and Virginia, with most of the outages in Kentucky.
Van Jackson checks on his dog, Jack, who was stranded in a church by floodwaters after a day of heavy rain in Garrett, Ky., July 28, 2022. Pat McDonogh/USA Today Network via Reuters
Rescue crews also worked in Virginia and West Virginia to reach people in places where roads were impassable. Gov. Jim Justice declared a state of emergency in six West Virginia counties where flooding downed trees, caused power outages and blocked roads. Governor Glenn Youngkin also issued an emergency declaration, allowing Virginia to mobilize resources to flooded areas in southwest Virginia.
“With more rain expected in the coming days, we want to lean forward to provide as many resources as possible to help those affected,” Youngkin said in a statement.
Although some waters receded after peaking Thursday, the National Weather Service said flash flooding remained possible into Friday evening in locations across the region.
The hardest-hit areas of eastern Kentucky received between 8 and 10 1/2 inches during a 48-hour period that ended Thursday, said Brandon Bonds, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Jackson. Some areas got more rain overnight, including Martin County, which was hit with another 3 inches or so that prompted a new flash flood warning on Friday.
The North Fork of the Kentucky River broke records in at least two places. A river gauge registered 20.9 feet (6.4 meters) at Whitesburg, more than 6 feet (1.8 meters) over the previous record, and the river reached a record 43.47 feet (13.25 meters ) in Jackson, Bonds said.
Bonds said some places could see more rain Friday afternoon and start to dry out Saturday “before things pick up on Sunday and into next week.”
Krystal Holbrook had enough Thursday, as her family raced through the night to move vehicles, RVs, trailers and equipment as rapidly rising waters threatened their southeastern Kentucky town of Jackson. “The higher ground is becoming a little difficult” to find, he said.
In Whitesburg, Kentucky, flood waters seeped into the Appalshop, an arts and education center known for promoting and preserving the region’s history and culture.
“We’re not exactly sure of the total damage because we haven’t been able to safely enter the building or get too close,” said Meredith Scalos, its director of communications. “We know that some of our archival materials have left the building and onto the streets of Whitesburg.”