At least 8 dead from flooding, power outages in eastern Kentucky, #dead #awake #floods #power outages #eastern #Kentucky Welcome to OLASMEDIA TV NEWSThis is what we have for you today:
Rescuers on Thursday plucked people from rooftops amid rapidly rising water in central Appalachia, where torrential rains caused some of the worst flooding in state history. claim at least eight lives in his wake and causing several people to go missing, according to Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear.
“Tonight we need your continued prayers for the people of Eastern Kentucky,” Beshear said in an update Thursday night. “This is an ongoing natural disaster, with more rain expected tonight which could worsen the situation. The death toll has risen heartbreakingly to 8 lost Kentuckians.”
An emergency officer in hard-hit eastern Kentucky described the situation as “catastrophic” as rescue teams searched for stranded people.
Beshear said hundreds of properties could be destroyed and called the flooding “historic and ongoing.” According to Beshear, at least 20 to 30 people have already been taken to safety, but he said there are others in need that officials say will be harder to reach.
“What we’re going to see from this is massive material damage,” Beshear said at a briefing on Thursday. “We expect the loss of life. Hundreds will lose their homes and this will be another event that will take not months, but probably years for many families to recover and recover from.”
During the briefingBeshear said “we expect double-digit deaths” and asked for help collecting certain items for residents.
“What people need are water and cleaning products,” he said. “Those will be the two most important.”
A man prepares to launch a boat at the flooded Wolverine Road in Breathitt County, Kentucky, on Thursday, July 28, 2022. Heavy rainfall has caused flash flooding and mudslides as storms batter parts of central Appalachia. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear says it is one of the worst floods in state history. (Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader via AP)
Ryan C. Hermens / AP
Later Thursday night, Beshear tweeted that he asked President Biden for federal assistance, adding that “the damage suffered is enormous and recovery will be a long-term effort.”
Flooding and mudslides were reported in the mountainous region of eastern Kentucky, western Virginia and southwestern Virginia, where thunderstorms have dumped several inches of rain in recent days.
“Guys, I don’t know how much rain Buckhorn can handle,” Marlene Abner Stokely said in a video she posted to Facebook, showing Squabble Creek overflowing and submerging a historic church in Kentucky. “You can see it’s pretty much taken over.”
Poweroutage.us reported more than 31,000 customers without electricity in eastern Kentucky, West Virginia and Virginia.
“We are currently experiencing one of the worst, most devastating floods in Kentucky history,” Beshear said. “The situation is dynamic and continuous. In most places we see no receding water. In fact, in most places it has not yet been crowned.”
“There are many people in eastern Kentucky on rooftops waiting to be rescued,” the governor added. “There are a number of people missing and I’m pretty sure this is a situation where we will lose some of them.”
Powerful storms leave a trail of destruction in Kentucky
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Rescue teams worked through the night to help people stranded by rising waters in eastern Kentucky’s Perry County, where Jerry Stacy, director of Emergency Management, called it a “catastrophic event.”
“We’re just in rescue mode right now,” Stacy said, speaking to The Associated Press by phone as he struggled to reach his office in Hazard. “Extreme flash floods and mudslides are just everywhere.”
The storms hit a mountainous region in the Appalachians where communities and homes are built on steep slopes or in the hollows between them, where the only flat land often includes creeks and streams that can rise rapidly. But this one is much worse than a typical flood, said Stacy, 54.
“I’ve lived here in Perry County all my life and this is by far the worst I’ve ever seen,” he said.
Roads in many areas were closed after as much as 6 inches of rain fell in some areas on Thursday and could see 1 to 3 more inches of fall, the National Weather Service said.
Beshear said he has deployed National Guard soldiers in the worst-hit areas and that three parks in the region have been opened as shelters for displaced people.
In Kentucky’s Perry, Leslie and Clay counties, people in low areas were urged to seek higher ground after multiple rapid water rescues. The Breathitt County courthouse opened overnight, and Chris Friley, director of Emergency Management, said the Old Montessori School would provide more permanent shelter once crews can man it.
“It’s the worst we’ve had in a long time,” Friley told WKYT-TV, “It’s nationwide again. There are several places that are still off-limits to rescue crews.”
Perry County broadcasters told WKYT-TV that floods washed away roads and bridges and knocked houses off foundations. The city of Hazard said rescue teams were out all night, urging people on Facebook to stay off the road and pray for a break in the rain.
In West Virginia’s Greenbrier County, firefighters rescued people from flooded homes and five campers stranded by high water in Nicholas County were rescued by the Keslers Cross Lanes volunteer fire department, WCHS-TV reported.
Communities in southwest Virginia were also flooded, and the National Weather Service’s office in Blacksburg, Virginia, warned of more showers and storms on Thursday.
In Buchanan County, which was hit by severe flooding two weeks ago, preliminary assessments of the previous flood were postponed for safety reasons during the latest high tide, said Lauren Opett, spokesman for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. Officials were determining whether it’s feasible to conduct the assessments virtually, she said.
And in Wise County, the Office of Emergency Management warned Thursday morning of impending flooding and road closures in the Pound Bottom area. Officials advised residents to shelter in place until the water recedes or to evacuate to a shelter in an elementary school.