Some Appalachia residents begin cleanup
Horrific storms and flooding killed 25, including four children
PRESTONBURG, KY. >> Some residents of Appalachia returned to flood-ravaged homes and communities Saturday to shovel mud and debris and to salvage what they could, and Kentucky's governor said search and rescue operations were ongoing in the region swamped by torrential rains days earlier that led to deadly flash flooding.
Rescue crews were continuing the struggle to get into hardhit areas, some of them among the poorest places in America. Dozens of deaths have been confirmed and the number is expected to grow.
In the tiny community of Wayland, Phillip Michael Caudill was working Saturday to clean up debris and recover 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 will 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 Garrett community, went out on rescues around 1 a.m. Thursday but had to ask to leave around 3 a.m. so he could go home, where waters were rapidly rising.
“That's what made it so tough for me,” he said. “You got people begging for help. And I couldn't help,” because he was tending to his own family.
The water was up to his knees when he arrived home, and he had to wade across the yard and carry two of his kids out to the car. He could barely shut the door of his SUV as they were leaving.
In Garrett on Saturday, couches, tables and pillows soaked by flooding were stacked in yards along the foothills of the mountainous region as people worked to clear out debris and shovel mud from driveways and roads under now-blue skies.
Hubert Thomas, 60, and his nephew Harvey, 37, fled to Jenny Wiley State Resort Park in Prestonburg after floodwaters destroyed their home in Pine Top late Wednesday night. The two were able to rescue their dog, CJ, but fear the damages to the home are beyond repair. Hubert Thomas, a retired coal miner, said his entire life savings was invested in his home.
“I've got nothing now,” he said. Harvey Thomas, an EMT, said he fell asleep to the sound of light rain, and it wasn't long until his uncle woke him up warning him that water was getting dangerously close to the house.
“It was coming inside and it just kept getting worse,” he said.
As for what's next, Harvey Thomas said he doesn't know, but he's thankful to be alive.
“Mountain people are strong,” he said. “And like I said it's not going to be tomorrow, probably not next month, but I think everybody's going to be OK. It's just going to be a long process.”
At least 25 have people died — including four children — in the flooding, Kentucky's governor said Saturday.
“We continue to pray for the families that have suffered an unfathomable loss,” Gov. Andy Beshear said. “Some having lost almost everyone in their household.”
Beshear said the number would likely rise significantly and it could take weeks to find all the victims of the record flash flooding. Crews have made more than 1,200 rescues from helicopters and boats, the governor said.
“I'm worried that we're going to be finding bodies for weeks to come,” Beshear said during a midday briefing.
The rain let up early Friday after parts of eastern Kentucky received between 8 and 10 1/2 inches) over 48 hours. But some waterways were not expected to crest until Saturday.