At least 8 dead in 'historic' Kentucky flooding. Emergency disaster declared

At least eight people died this weekend as heavy rainfall and widespread, severe flooding swept across the state, according to Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.

All of Kentucky’s 120 counties reported flooding, said Chris Bailey, chief meteorologist for WKYT. Counties reported between 3 and 8 inches of rainfall beginning Friday night.

One man was found dead in floodwaters Saturday evening in Clay County. The county coroner identified him as 73-year-old Donald Keith Nicholson. Officials said he drove into water covering KY 80 in the Horse Creek community, near Manchester.

In Hart County, a 7-year-old girl died Saturday night after being swept away by floodwaters, according to TV station WNKY. The child’s mother also died, and her body has not been recovered. Officials say their vehicle was submerged at Campground Road, near Priceville Road, at the bridge along Bacon Creek. Their identities have not been released.

In all, three people died in Hart County; two died in Pike County; and one died in each of Washington, Clay and Nelson counties.

Most of the deaths were related to floodwaters, and Beshear said he expects the number to rise.

Rainfall began statewide Friday evening and continued throughout the day Saturday. More than 300 roads were closed in Kentucky on Sunday morning, and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet described the impact as “historic.”

“Kentucky, we are seeing dangerous and life-threatening conditions across the state, and things are only going to get tougher due to widespread flooding and incoming weather,” Beshear posted on social media.

More than 1,000 rescues had been made as of 12:30 p.m. Sunday. Beshear said the state is in the search and rescue phase.

President Donald Trump declared a federal emergency for the state Sunday, freeing federal funding for impacted areas.

Beshear thanked President Trump and said it was the fastest he had seen a president sign off on an emergency declaration. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is already on the ground.

The National Weather Service Louisville reported the state received 3 to 8 inches of rainfall on top of previous heavy rainfall in recent days.

Rain hammered much of the state, but many of the most affected areas were in Eastern Kentucky — a region that was also devastated by flooding in summer 2022, which killed 45 people.

Days of thunderstorms rolled through Eastern Kentucky during that flooding, dumping between 14 and 16 inches of rain on the region, according to the National Weather Service. The heaviest rain came late July 27 and into July 28.The rain caused rivers and creeks to rise to historic levels, and former President Joe Biden approved a disaster declaration in Kentucky.

“Right now, we’re not necessarily seeing that level of event all across Kentucky, but we may in some regions,” Beshear said Sunday.

Beshear said initial evaluations of damage showed widespread but less intense damage than the 2022 flooding.

“The difference between the 2022 flooding and this is this hit the whole state,” Beshear said. “We have flooding in Western Kentucky, we have flooding in Eastern Kentucky. So when we ultimately look at the overall damage caused, it might be more comparable in the end than we think.“

The destructive flooding caused significant damage to Kentucky Power, according to company officials. More than 18,000 customers were without power Sunday morning. Blocked roads from high water, mudslides and downed trees have been reported throughout the southern part of Kentucky Power’s territory, according to the company.

Access to many of the areas is not possible due to flooding and blocked roadways. Pike County has nearly 6,000 customers without power, and Knott County has about 2,200 customers. Breathitt, Floyd, Leslie, Letcher, Martin and Perry counties also have significant outages.

More than 39,000 people statewide were without power, Beshear said.

“More announcements as water subsides and cleanup begins, but this is far worse in town than it was in 2022. Please pray for Hazard tonight,” the city posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Hazard, in Perry County, was one of the hardest-hit cities in 2022, and officials said Saturday night the current situation was worse.

“This is much, much more widespread than 2022,” Bailey said. “The flood was more severe (in 2022) but only impacted a handful of counties in the southeast.”

Lee and Floyd Counties were also heavily affected by the rainfall. In Lee County, officials shared a photo of a flooded county courthouse.

One hundred and forty-two people are being housed at state parks with availability at Pine Mountain, Cumberland Falls and Natural Bridge. Jenny Wiley State Park in Floyd County is full, Beshear said.

The Kentucky Community and Technical College System campus in Breathitt County is also being used as a shelter facility, according to Ryan Quarles, the system’s president.

Flood watches in Eastern Kentucky were canceled Sunday morning, and shortly thereafter, a winter weather advisory went into effect with up to 2 inches of snow expected in parts of the state.

“If a road isn’t flooded, it could have some slick spots from the snow,” the weather service said.

Going into the week, Kentuckians can expect a bitterly cold week with another snowstorm Tuesday night through Thursday with several inches of snow will fall across the state then.

Temperatures will be near zero degrees, according to Bailey.

“This will make for a delayed recovery and a lot of hardship,” he said.

If you need help from an emergency response team due to weather impacts, complete the Kentucky Emergency Management form or call 502-607-6665. If you have an emergency or life-threatening situation, call 911 immediately.

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