Dozens saved in dramatic rescues from flooding in Kentucky, West Virginia: ‘It was God, I tell you’

Emergency workers saved dozens of people in Kentucky and West Virginia over the weekend as both states experienced severe flooding.

Firefighter Eddie Stacy and his co-workers rescued a family from a flooded car in Wolfe County in eastern Kentucky, the Associated Press reported. Stacy’s crew was responding to a downed tree when he noticed a woman’s cellphone flashlight.

An abandoned car is surrounded by flood water Monday on Kentucky Route 7 in Salyersville. (Ryan C. Hermens/)

“Nobody could hear from where she was,” Stacy told the AP. “That little flashlight when I was driving down the road just caught my attention. It was God, I tell you. It was God to have me in that place where I was supposed to be.”

Floodwaters inundated southern West Virginia and eastern Kentucky on Sunday into Monday, as heavy rains and melting snow caused multiple rivers to overflow their banks, according to the Louisville Courier Journal. While rains abated Tuesday, forecasters expected rivers and therefore floodwaters to continue rising.

Tanner Ryles, center, and Ray Smith help move the furniture from their friend Kelly Sparrow's home as the Kentucky River inches closer in Frankfort, Ky., on Tuesday. (Timothy D. Easley/)

In Lee County, about 130 miles southeast of Louisville, people piled into dump trucks to evacuate Monday, the Courier Journal reported. County officials said there were “several rescues” in the town of Beattyville.

There have been zero reported deaths from the flooding so far.

Also in Lee County, a batch of COVID-19 vaccines were taken from the health department by boat to prevent spoiling, according to CNN. The county building was in danger of losing power, and the vaccines were taken to neighboring Wolfe County.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshar declared a state of emergency Monday, and dozens of local municipalities declared disasters.

“This is devastating to our small town, there’s no question about that. A lot of good people have their life investment in these businesses,” Jon Allen, emergency management director of Lee County, told the Courier Journal. “We’re gonna rebuild. We’ll do that, and we’re expecting FEMA will declare a disaster, so we’ll work through all of that part of it. We’ll come back stronger. It’s just gonna take us a little time.”