PRESTONBURG, Ky. (AP) — Some Appalachian residents returned to flood-devastated homes and communities Saturday to rake mud and debris and salvage what they could, as Kentucky’s governor said search and rescue operations continued in the region , inundated by torrential rains days earlier that led to deadly flash floods.
Rescue teams continued to struggle to enter the hard-hit areas, some of them among the poorest places in America. Dozens of deaths have been confirmed and the number is expected to rise.
In the small community of Wayland, Phillip Michael Caudill worked Saturday to clear the debris and rebuild what he could from the home he shares with his wife and three children. The waters had receded from the house, but left a mess behind, along with questions about what he and his family would do next.
“We’re just hoping we can get some help,” said Caudill, who is staying with his family at Jenny Wiley State Park in a free room for now.
Caudill, a firefighter in the nearby community of Garrett, went out on a rescue mission around 1 a.m. Thursday, but had to ask to leave around 3 a.m. to get home, where the water was rising quickly.
“That’s what made it so hard for me,” he said. “Here I am sitting there watching my house go under water and you have people begging for help. And I couldn’t help it” because he was taking care of his own family.
The water was up to his knees when he got home and he had to walk across the yard and carry two of his children out to the car. He barely managed to close the door of his SUV as they drove away.
In Garrett on Saturday, flood-soaked sofas, tables and cushions were lined up in yards along the foothills of the mountain area as people worked to clear debris and shovel mud from alleys and roads under already blue skies.
Hubert Thomas, 60, and his nephew Harvey, 37, fled to Jenny Wiley State Resort Park in Prestonburg after floodwaters destroyed their Pine Top home late Wednesday night. The couple were able to save their dog, CJ, but fear the damage to the home is beyond repair. Hubert Thomas, a retired miner, said all his savings were invested in his home.
“I have nothing now,” he said.
Harvey Thomas, an emergency physician, said he fell asleep to the sound of light rain and was awakened by his uncle not long after, warning him that the water was getting dangerously close to the house.
“He was going inside and it just kept getting worse,” he said, “at one point we looked over to the front door and my car and his car were playing bumper cars, like bumper boats in the middle of our front yard. “
As for what’s next, Harvey Thomas said he doesn’t know, but he’s grateful to be alive.
“Mountain people are strong,” he said. “And like I said, it won’t be tomorrow, probably not next month, but I think everybody will be fine. It’s just going to be a long process.”
At least 25 people have died – including four children – in the floods, Kentucky’s governor said Saturday.
“We continue to pray for the families who have suffered an unimaginable loss,” Gov. Andy Bescher said. “Some have lost almost everyone in their family.”
Bescher said the toll is likely to rise significantly and it could take weeks to find all the victims of the record-breaking flash flood. Crews have made more than 1,200 rescues from helicopters and boats, the governor said.
“I’m concerned that we’re going to be finding bodies for weeks to come,” Beshear said during a lunchtime briefing.
The rain stopped early Friday after parts of eastern Kentucky received between 8 and 10 1/2 inches (20-27 centimeters) in 48 hours. But some waterways were not expected to crest until Saturday. About 18,000 utility customers in Kentucky were without power Saturday, poweroutage.us reported.
It’s the latest in a string of catastrophic floods that have hit parts of the US this summer, including St. Louis earlier this week and again on Friday. Scientists warn that climate change is making weather disasters more frequent.
As rainfall pounded Appalachia this week, water cascaded down hillsides and into valleys and hollows, where it swelled creeks and streams running through small towns. The torrent engulfed homes and businesses and wrecked vehicles. Mudslides pinned some people down steep slopes.
President Joe Biden declared a federal disaster to direct relief funds to more than a dozen Kentucky counties.
Flooding extended into West Virginia and southern West Virginia.
Gov. Jim Justice declared a state of emergency for six counties in West Virginia, where flooding downed trees, knocked out power and blocked roads. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin also issued an emergency declaration, allowing officials to mobilize resources in the flooded southwestern part of the state.
The deluge came two days after record rains around St. Louis that fell more than 12 inches (31 centimeters) and killed at least two people. Last month, heavy rain on top of mountain snow in Yellowstone National Park caused historic flooding and the evacuation of more than 10,000 people. In both cases, the deluge of rain far exceeded forecasters’ predictions.
Extreme rains are becoming more common as climate change scorches the planet and alters weather patterns, scientists say. That’s a growing challenge for disaster officials because the models used to predict storm impacts are based in part on past events and can’t handle increasingly devastating flash floods and heat waves like those that recently hit the Pacific Northwest and the Southern Plains.
“There’s a battle of extremes going on in the United States right now,” said University of Oklahoma meteorologist Jason Furtado. “These are things that we expect to happen because of climate change. … A warmer atmosphere contains more water vapor and that means you can cause more heavy precipitation.
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AP reporter Patrick Orsagos contributed to this report.
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