Death toll in catastrophic Kentucky flooding climbs to 25
Jessica Schladebeck, Joseph Wilkinson
The rain has let up, but the depth of the devastation from generational flooding in eastern Kentucky is just beginning to reveal itself.
At least 25 people, some of them children, are confirmed dead, said Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who warned the death toll would likely climb as search and rescue crews continue combing through towns across the Appalachian foothills.
“I’m worried that we’re going to be finding bodies for weeks to come,” Beshear said Saturday.
The governor, struggling at times to contain his emotion, said the fatalities span five counties, some of them among the poorest places in America.
Teresa Reynolds sits exhausted as members of her community clean the debris from their flood-ravaged homes in Ogden Hollar at Hindman, Ky., Saturday, July 30, 2022.
Teresa Reynolds sits exhausted as members of her community clean the debris from their flood-ravaged homes in Ogden Hollar at Hindman, Ky., Saturday, July 30, 2022. (Timothy D. Easley/)
As of Saturday afternoon, more than 18,600 customers were without power, most of them in the hard-hit counties of Knott, Breathitt, Perry, Letcher and Leslie in the eastern part of the state.
Kentucky experienced eight to 10 inches of rainfall over the span of just 24 hours, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The rain let up early Friday, but the wet weather is expected to return on Sunday, creating a sense of urgency among first responders and rescue teams as they race to reach survivors.
Men ride in a boat along flooded Wolverine Road in Breathitt County, Ky., on Thursday, July 28, 2022.
Men ride in a boat along flooded Wolverine Road in Breathitt County, Ky., on Thursday, July 28, 2022. (Ryan C. Hermens/)
Breathitt County Coroner Hargis Epperson told the Lexington Herald-Leader that three bodies were found in the county but made it clear that could be just the beginning.
“It’s hard to explain how much water” there is, Epperson said. “It flooded places where it has never ever flooded.”
The Kentucky State Police and the National Guards of Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia have been working around the clock since rainfall ripped across the region. So far, crews have made more than 1,200 rescues from helicopters and boats, the governor said.
Bashear said the operation is still a search-and-rescue effort.
Bonnie Combs hugs her 10-year-old granddaughter Adelynn Bowling as the North Fork of the Kentucky River encroaches on her property in Jackson, Ky., on Thursday, July 28, 2022.
Bonnie Combs hugs her 10-year-old granddaughter Adelynn Bowling as the North Fork of the Kentucky River encroaches on her property in Jackson, Ky., on Thursday, July 28, 2022. (Timothy D. Easley/)
“To everyone in Eastern Kentucky, we are going to be there for you today and in the weeks, months and years ahead,” Beshear tweeted. “We will get through this together.”
President Biden on Friday declared a federal disaster to direct relief money to more than a dozen Kentucky counties.
As waters receded on Saturday, residents began salvaging what they could. In some cases, it wasn’t much.
“I’ve got nothing now,” said Hubert Thomas, a 60-year-old retired coal miner who put his life savings into his Pine Top home. Thomas and his 37-year-old nephew, Harvey, were among the dozens of people who fled to the Jenny Wiley Resort Park for safety.
Firefighter Phillip Michael Caudill was saving lives in Garrett around 3 a.m. Thursday when he got an important call: His own home was in danger. He went back to rescue his two kids and piled them into his SUV. He was barely able to close the car doors.
The river is still high around the homes in Breathitt County, Ky., on Saturday, July 30, 2022. Recovery has begun in many of the narrow hollers after historic rains flooded many areas of Eastern Kentucky killing more than two dozen people. A layer of mud from the retreating waters covers many cars and homes.
In this aerial image, a car drives over a bridge in Eastern Kentucky on Saturday, July 30, 2022, after historic rains flooded many areas of Kentucky, killing at least two dozen people.
In this aerial photo residents of Whitesburg, Ky., are beginning to return to the small city in the eastern part of the state, Saturday, July 30, 2022. The area is beginning to asses the damage after historic rain brought catastrophic flooding to the area killing multiple people.
In this aerial image, a home in Eastern Kentucky is washed onto a road on Saturday, July 30, 2022, after historic rains during the week flooded many areas of Kentucky killing multiple people.
Teresa Reynolds sits exhausted as members of her community clean the debris from their flood ravaged homes at Ogden Hollar in Hindman, Ky., Saturday, July 30, 2022.
Residents of Whitesburg, Ky. are beginning to return to the small city in the eastern part of the state on Saturday, July 30, 2022. The area is beginning to asses the damage after historic rain brought catastrophic flooding to the area killing more than two dozen people.
In this aerial photo, some homes in Breathitt County, Ky., are still surrounded by water on Saturday, July 30, 2022, after historic rains flooded many areas of Eastern Kentucky killing multiple people. A thin film of mud from the retreating waters covers many cars and homes.
In this aerial image, the river is still high around the homes in Breathitt County, Ky., on Saturday, July 30, 2022. Recovery has begun in many of the narrow hollers after historic rains flooded many areas of Eastern Kentucky killing more at least two dozen people. A layer of mud from the retreating waters covers many cars and homes.
In this aerial image, the football field at Breathitt County High School on Saturday, July 30, 2022, is covered in mud after historic rains flooded many areas of Eastern Kentucky killing multiple people. A thin film of mud from the retreating waters covers many cars and homes.
Volunteers from the local mennonite community clean a flood-damaged property from a house at Ogden Hollar in Hindman, Ky. on Saturday, July 30, 2022.
Volunteers and city workers try to reconnect the water supply to a nursing home in Elkhorn City, Ky. on Friday, July 29, 2022. The pipe, along with some of KY-197, washed away yesterday when the Russell Fork flooded.
A woman glances at her phone after carrying supplies into her home in Jackson, Ky. on Friday, July 29, 2022. Flooding in the area surrounded many homes, forcing people to walk through water to get inside.
Several mobile homes in Jackson, Ky. are flooded on Friday, July 29, 2022. Heavy rains poured into Appalachia this week, displacing hundreds of people.
This July 28, 2022, photo provided by Appalshop, shows the flooded Appalshop building in Whitesburg, Ky. The cultural center known for chronicling Appalachian life is cleaning up and assessing its losses. Like much of its stricken region, Appalshop has been swamped by historic flooding. The water inundated downtown Whitesburg in southeastern Kentucky, causing extensive damage to the renowned repository of Appalachian history and culture.
Homes and structures are flooded near Quicksand, Ky. on Thursday, July 28, 2022. The same stubborn weather system caused intense downpours in St. Louis and Appalachia that led to devastating and in some cases deadly flooding.
Members of the Winchester, Ky. Fire Department walk inflatable boats across flood waters over Ky. State Road 15 in Jackson, Ky. to pick up people stranded by the floodwaters on Thursday, July 28, 2022.
Homes are flooded by Lost Creek, Ky. on Thursday, July 28, 2022. Heavy rains have caused flash flooding and mudslides as storms pound parts of central Appalachia. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear says it's some of the worst flooding in state history.
Men ride in a boat along flooded Wolverine Road in Breathitt County, Ky., on Thursday, July 28, 2022. Heavy rains have caused flash flooding and mudslides as storms pound parts of central Appalachia. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear says it's some of the worst flooding in state history.
Homes are flooded by Lost Creek, Ky., on Thursday, July 28, 2022. Heavy rains have caused flash flooding and mudslides as storms pound parts of central Appalachia. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear says it's some of the worst flooding in state history.
Homes are flooded by Lost Creek, Ky., on Thursday, July 28, 2022. Heavy rains have caused flash flooding and mudslides as storms pound parts of central Appalachia. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear says it's some of the worst flooding in state history.
Homes and structures are flooded near Quicksand, Ky. on Thursday, July 28, 2022. The same stubborn weather system caused intense downpours in St. Louis and Appalachia that led to devastating, and in some cases deadly, flooding.
Members of the Winchester, Ky. Fire Department walk inflatable boats across flood waters over a road in Jackson, Ky. to pick up people stranded by the floodwaters on Thursday, July 28, 2022. The same stubborn weather system caused intense downpours in St. Louis and Appalachia that led to devastating, and in some cases deadly, flooding.
A truck drives along flooded Wolverine Road in Breathitt County, Ky. on Thursday, July 28, 2022. Heavy rains have caused flash flooding and mudslides as storms pound parts of central Appalachia. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear says it's some of the worst flooding in state history.
“That’s what made it so tough for me,” he said. “Here I am, sitting there, watching my house become immersed in water and you got people begging for help. And I couldn’t help.”
Eastern Kentucky was the latest area to be devastated by floods. Earlier this week in St. Louis, two people died in record flooding. And earlier this summer, parts of Yellowstone National Park were washed out as torrential rains struck northern Wyoming and southern Montana.
The storms have also become tougher to predict. Weather forecasters rely on previous events when estimating rainfall. In Kentucky, only a few inches were predicted before the catastrophic floods.
“It’s a battle of extremes going on right now in the United States,” said University of Oklahoma meteorologist Jason Furtado. “These are things we expect to happen because of climate change. ... A warmer atmosphere holds more water vapor and that means you can produce increased heavy rainfall.”
