Deadly flooding in Kentucky has left thousands of people homeless or trapped in their water-filled homes. The death toll is currently at 37 but is expected to rise. The flood occurred only months after a deadly December tornado, one of the worst in the history of the state, as well as an ice storm that left 150,000 people without power, and a flash flood last July.
Communities in Kentucky had just begun to rebuild after the catastrophic natural disasters that occurred last year. Now, the road to rebuilding has been made much harder.
“I wish I could tell you why areas where people may not have much continue to get hit and lose everything,” Governor Andy Beshear said. “I can’t give you the why, but I know what we do in response to it. And the answer is everything we can.”
In Knott County, County Attorney Brendon Miller has imposed a curfew between a curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. due to “excessive looting.”
“I hate to have to impose a curfew, but looting will absolutely not be tolerated. Our friends and neighbors have lost so much — we cannot stand by and allow them to lose what they have left,” Miller said in a Facebook post.
The death toll in Knott County is currently at 14, including four children.
As families mourn their losses, hope remains. In Hazard, Perry County, a church is being used temporarily as a shelter. Tracy Counts, a Red Cross Worker at First Presbyterian Church, describes the horrid conditions people arrived in. Most of them were drenched, and some were “caked in mud,” according to the New York Times.
There is no running water at the church, and the only hygienic product available is baby wipes.
“It’s making it a harder puzzle to solve, but we’re adapting and making it happen,” Counts said. “It’s just hard to ask for help when we’re all in the same boat.”
Communities in Kentucky had just begun to rebuild after the catastrophic natural disasters that occurred last year. Now, the road to rebuilding has been made much harder.
“I wish I could tell you why areas where people may not have much continue to get hit and lose everything,” Governor Andy Beshear said. “I can’t give you the why, but I know what we do in response to it. And the answer is everything we can.”
In Knott County, County Attorney Brendon Miller has imposed a curfew between a curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. due to “excessive looting.”
“I hate to have to impose a curfew, but looting will absolutely not be tolerated. Our friends and neighbors have lost so much — we cannot stand by and allow them to lose what they have left,” Miller said in a Facebook post.
The death toll in Knott County is currently at 14, including four children.
As families mourn their losses, hope remains. In Hazard, Perry County, a church is being used temporarily as a shelter. Tracy Counts, a Red Cross Worker at First Presbyterian Church, describes the horrid conditions people arrived in. Most of them were drenched, and some were “caked in mud,” according to the New York Times.
There is no running water at the church, and the only hygienic product available is baby wipes.
“It’s making it a harder puzzle to solve, but we’re adapting and making it happen,” Counts said. “It’s just hard to ask for help when we’re all in the same boat.”
