Dramatic footage from flooded eastern Kentucky shows a rescue from a roof peaking above floodwaters by a chopper.
The Wolfe County Search and Rescue Team uploaded a video to Facebook in which just the tops of roofs could be made out as belonging to residences.
According to the post, a family was trapped inside one of the homes, so a Wolfe County swift water crew burst through the window to rescue them. The family was lifted to safety by a helicopter crew after the crew managed to get them to the roof. An 83-year-old woman is saved in the video.
Following the terrible flooding, the National Guard has carried out more than 1,000 airlift rescues in eastern Kentucky, according to governor Andy Beshear on Sunday.
On Monday, the governor declared that at least 35 individuals had passed away. He has stated time and time again that more people are anticipated to die because so many people are still missing.
The floods were “probably the bloodiest and most disastrous of my lifetime,” according to Beshear, who visited some of the districts that were most severely affected on Sunday.
“I’m talking about kilometers of swept-away homes. They are unable to locate some areas of people’s homes “explained Beshear.
According to the governor, rescue teams are still searching for anyone who may be missing because they are confined or don’t have access to cellular service.
The number of individuals without electricity in the state has decreased from twice as many to more than 12,000, he said.
The governor also announced that he and his wife were postponing their week-long trip to Israel.
“I am unable to remain away from home while the residents of eastern Kentucky endure pain and as the situation there will continue to deteriorate over the next few weeks. I promised the people yesterday that I would be there for them today, tomorrow, and in the weeks to come, and I will keep my word “said Beshear.
The National Weather Service warned that further flash flooding was expected in some areas of Appalachia on Monday as the most recent storms moved through. In a few of the same places that were flooded last week, rainfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour were possible.
The residents of this region are currently experiencing rain as if things weren’t already difficult for them, Beshear stated on Monday. In all of the impacted locations, a strong storm is possible today, and that is wrong.
Eastern Kentucky had 5 to 10 inches of rain over the past seven days, which is 600% more rain than is typical for this time of year.
A 1-in-1,000-year flood event, indicating there was a 0.1 percent chance it will occur in a given year, was the record-breaking flooding in Kentucky.
Climate change is causing precipitation events to occur more frequently and with greater heaviness, particularly east of the Mississippi River.
According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, there were 388 people residing in 12 flood victims’ shelters that were open in Kentucky on Sunday.
President Joe Biden declared a major disaster, opening the state up to federal aid, according to FEMA announced Friday.
In an effort to assist displaced families even more, Biden said on Saturday that he had expanded that statement to include individual assistance.
