After days of deadly flooding in eastern Kentucky, firefighters and National Guards are on duty to rescue hundreds of people trapped in muddy waters.
Last week’s rainfall in Kentucky soaked the soil until it could not absorb more. The flood caused rivers and lakes across the eastern half of the state to flood. Bridges collapsed, communities were isolated, and houses were being destroyed from their foundations. The Federal Emergency Management Agency reported that 37 people were killed as of Sunday morning. Kentucky is under severe damage from flash floods. In a topography that has been stripped, literally, of trees and mountainsides, flooding becomes more likely, riskier, and more dangerous.
Heavy rain is expected to produce more flooding on Monday, so Governor Andy Beshear told NPR’s Weekend Edition the state is working fast before the rains return.
“We need to get everybody out of those areas, ultimately to safety, a shelter, somewhere where we can feed them, somewhere that is dry and we can get them medical attention,” he said
The death toll continues to rise, and Governor Beshear thinks “it could take weeks for the full magnitude of the human toll and physical devastation to become clear.”
From imported document
In Knott County, at least 16 people died, including four children under the age of 14 years old. 1,400 people have survived, watching their houses flood and struggling with no electricity.
Evelyn Smith lives in Jackson, Ky. She says, “It’s the mountains. It’s the land, it’s the people that connect together to make it a home.”
Keith Bradley lives in Lost Creek, Ky, says the beauty of this tiny town in Appalachia is why he continues to call it home, even though flooding has become a part of life. His home was damaged just last year. This time, he and his wife and a neighbor spent hours swimming to higher ground as he watched the rising water envelop his home.
Cold, wet, exhausted, and homeless, Bradley had nothing but gratitude for the two firefighters who saved him, his loved ones, and their five pets to bring them to dry land.
Last week’s rainfall in Kentucky soaked the soil until it could not absorb more. The flood caused rivers and lakes across the eastern half of the state to flood. Bridges collapsed, communities were isolated, and houses were being destroyed from their foundations. The Federal Emergency Management Agency reported that 37 people were killed as of Sunday morning. Kentucky is under severe damage from flash floods. In a topography that has been stripped, literally, of trees and mountainsides, flooding becomes more likely, riskier, and more dangerous.
Heavy rain is expected to produce more flooding on Monday, so Governor Andy Beshear told NPR’s Weekend Edition the state is working fast before the rains return.
“We need to get everybody out of those areas, ultimately to safety, a shelter, somewhere where we can feed them, somewhere that is dry and we can get them medical attention,” he said
The death toll continues to rise, and Governor Beshear thinks “it could take weeks for the full magnitude of the human toll and physical devastation to become clear.”
From imported document
In Knott County, at least 16 people died, including four children under the age of 14 years old. 1,400 people have survived, watching their houses flood and struggling with no electricity.
Evelyn Smith lives in Jackson, Ky. She says, “It’s the mountains. It’s the land, it’s the people that connect together to make it a home.”
Keith Bradley lives in Lost Creek, Ky, says the beauty of this tiny town in Appalachia is why he continues to call it home, even though flooding has become a part of life. His home was damaged just last year. This time, he and his wife and a neighbor spent hours swimming to higher ground as he watched the rising water envelop his home.
Cold, wet, exhausted, and homeless, Bradley had nothing but gratitude for the two firefighters who saved him, his loved ones, and their five pets to bring them to dry land.
