Once again, eastern Kentucky and parts of Southwest VA and West VA have been hit with significant and destructive flooding.
With 3-6″ of rain pounding the area on Saturday along with an already saturated ground, anxiety was very high as the we started to see flood damage, closed roads, mudslides and more that were reminiscent of 2022.
Today, Sunday, crews are beginning the assessment of flood damage and cleanup as waters begin to recede.
This cleanup will take days and weeks to get everything back working close to normal.
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Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear has declared a state of emergency for Kentucky and has asked for and been granted a federal emergency disaster declaration by the Trump Administration that will free up federal funding for cleanup and recovery.
The Governor gave an update at 12:30pm on Sunday from the KYEM offices in Frankfort.
According to the Governor, 8 people have died as a result of the flooding, mainly from trying to drive through flooded waterways.
He did say over 1,000 water rescues have taken place across Kentucky.
He also says the Kentucky National Guard has been activated to assist in several counties.
The following KY State Parks are open to displaced flood victims:
Jenny Wiley State Resort Park in Prestonsburg
Natural Bridge State Resort Park at Slade
Pine Mountain State Resort Park at Pineville
and Cumberland Falls State Resort Park
For the most up to date info visit parks.ky.gov
Power outages were over 40,000 statewide at one point but have since improved. Some power restoration could take a few days with some outages still hard or impossible to reach due to roads washed out and/or flood damage.
Only call 911 if you have an emergency or life threatening situation.
For immediate non-life threatening situations call 502-607-6665 or visit kyem.ky.gov
The Governor signed an executive order for Kentucky pharmacies to dispense 30 day prescription emergency supplies of medicine.
FEMA is now in Kentucky and will be working to let counties know what resources will be available in the coming days.
KSP and National Guard will be in the air soon to help evaluate flood needs and areas most in need of help.
He sent out a special shoutout to all state workers along with county and city workers for a job well done not only with the flooding and mudslides but with the upcoming snow later this week.
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While not as bad overall as the history July 2022 flood, it’s more widespread in that it covers more towns and counties than in 2022.
This is one of the worst floods on record for Whitesburg and river flooding has also caused our neighboring communities such as Hazard, Pikeville, Hindman, Harlan and many others to see historic flooding with river crests well above flood stage.
Hazard has seen the North Fork of the KY River surpass 30 feet for the first time since 1984 being the 7th worse flood in Hazard history.
In Pikeville the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy is at record levels and out of it’s banks causing flooding in many areas that have never seen flooding before including the shopping area around Wal Mart and Lowe’s, reaching levels not seen before.
This is a top 5 flood event for Pikeville. The river level is as 46.68 and in comparison it was 51.46 feet in 1977. The biggest flood being in 1957.
This is the first major flood of this magnitude for Pikeville since the Pikeville cut through project that rerouted the river and was completed in 1987.
The flood levels of the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy in Prestonsburg and Paintsville will be close to the top 10 of all time.
In Whitesburg, the North Fork of the KY River reached 13.4 feet or about 3.5 feet over the 10 feet flood stage. The North Fork went out of it’s banks in a few locations in Whitesburg including the River Road by the Rec Center and in the Coca Cola Curve. For reference the river flood levels in the July 2022 were at 21 feet at Whitesburg before the guage quit working.
Fleming Neon was hit again by flooding this time around with the town being shut down for much of Saturday and into Sunday with flood water and mud/debris blocking roads.
Other hard-hit areas of Letcher County include Craft’s Colley, Cowan, Dry Fork, Smoot Creek, Blair Branch, Kingscreek, Deane, Colson, Neon Junction, Kona, Millstone, Dunham, Jenkins, Haymond, Blackey, Mayking, McRoberts and so many more.
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The City of Whitesburg Water System has a boil water advisory out for areas from Tunnel Hill to the Cabinet for Health & Family Services building next to Priceless. This affects the east end of Whitesburg including the hospital and nursing home.
The Letcher County Water and Sewer has reported damages causing outages in areas served by the Knott County water including Deane, Highway 7 North also Thornton and Mayking areas.
Both water crews are working around the clock to make repairs as quick as possible and they appreciate your understanding.
Several area businesses have stepped up during this time of flooding to offer shelter, food and more. They are greatly appreciated.
The Letcher County Rec Center is closed to the public but is open as an emergency shelter. If you need information on that please call 633-7027.
If you must travel, remember, that a lot of roades remain blocked due to flood waters or even if the flood waters have receded there will be damage to those roads and debris on roads all across the area. Slow down, be extra aware and don’t be out sightseeing. State and county road crews are working to repair damage and get roads back open as soon as possible.
On Saturday at the height of the flood there were some water rescues in Letcher County involving vehicles driving into high water including in front of Isom IGA on Highway 7 south and on US 119 in front of the state highway garage at Mayking.
You can see many pictures of flooding across Letcher County and the mountains at the Bulldog Facebook page.
Stay safe, travel with extra care, help each other, be a good neighbor and let me know if our station can be of any assistance to you.