A deadly flood in eastern Kentucky trapped hundreds of people, forcing firefighters and the National Guard to help them.
The worst of the floods happened in the Appalachian region, and officials say that at least 14 people died in Knott County. More than 1,400 people have been rescued by boat and helicopter, and thousands remain without electricity. Homes and bridges were torn apart, leaving some remote communities inaccessible. In Breathitt County, at least four deaths had been confirmed, with roughly a dozen people missing and much of the county remaining underwater.
Disaster is repeatedly hitting Kentucky: “I wish I could tell you why we keep getting hit here in Kentucky,” Gov. Andy Beshear said during a briefing in which he updated residents on the rising death toll. He expressed the anguish and exhaustion that many in the state have felt after these disasters keep piling up.
“We had another flood, a record flood, not 12 months ago, and a lot of families had just started getting their lives back on track,” said Hargis Epperson, the county coroner. “Now it’s happened all over again, worse this time. Everybody’s lost everything, twice.”
These natural disasters hit rural communities the hardest, which have already gone into decline prior to the calamities. Last year, powerful ice storms cut off power to 150,000 people in eastern Kentucky, a flash flood last July left many stranded in their homes and in December tornadoes carved a nearly 200-mile path of destruction and killed 80 people. Coal industries and manufacturing jobs had already been going down, and the destruction caused by natural disasters certainly did not help.
However, not everything is hopeless. The small community of Bremen, Kentucky – nearly 300 miles away – also came to aid in the cleanup. The previous year, Bremen was shredded by a tornado, and the mayor of a small eastern town, Hindman, came to aid.
“You were here in December and helped us,” Mayor Allen Miller of Bremen told the mayor of Hindman in a phone call. “Now it’s time for me to return the favor.”
“Let’s be aware that this is a new normal of incredibly catastrophic events, which are going to hit our most vulnerable communities,” said Alex Gibson, executive director of Appalshop, the arts and education center in Whitesburg.
The worst of the floods happened in the Appalachian region, and officials say that at least 14 people died in Knott County. More than 1,400 people have been rescued by boat and helicopter, and thousands remain without electricity. Homes and bridges were torn apart, leaving some remote communities inaccessible. In Breathitt County, at least four deaths had been confirmed, with roughly a dozen people missing and much of the county remaining underwater.
Disaster is repeatedly hitting Kentucky: “I wish I could tell you why we keep getting hit here in Kentucky,” Gov. Andy Beshear said during a briefing in which he updated residents on the rising death toll. He expressed the anguish and exhaustion that many in the state have felt after these disasters keep piling up.
“We had another flood, a record flood, not 12 months ago, and a lot of families had just started getting their lives back on track,” said Hargis Epperson, the county coroner. “Now it’s happened all over again, worse this time. Everybody’s lost everything, twice.”
These natural disasters hit rural communities the hardest, which have already gone into decline prior to the calamities. Last year, powerful ice storms cut off power to 150,000 people in eastern Kentucky, a flash flood last July left many stranded in their homes and in December tornadoes carved a nearly 200-mile path of destruction and killed 80 people. Coal industries and manufacturing jobs had already been going down, and the destruction caused by natural disasters certainly did not help.
However, not everything is hopeless. The small community of Bremen, Kentucky – nearly 300 miles away – also came to aid in the cleanup. The previous year, Bremen was shredded by a tornado, and the mayor of a small eastern town, Hindman, came to aid.
“You were here in December and helped us,” Mayor Allen Miller of Bremen told the mayor of Hindman in a phone call. “Now it’s time for me to return the favor.”
“Let’s be aware that this is a new normal of incredibly catastrophic events, which are going to hit our most vulnerable communities,” said Alex Gibson, executive director of Appalshop, the arts and education center in Whitesburg.
