Northeast Kentucky deluged by rain, flooding

By Mark Morgenstein,
CNNJuly 21, 2010 12:19 p.m. EDT

(CNN) -- Up to half a foot of torrential rains in northeastern Kentucky have led to swift-water rescues, propelled a truck into a tree and washed away homes and businesses -- and more severe weather is on the way.

"We're trying to get a hold on this. It's just awful," said Brandon Roberts, a spokesman for the Pike County judge executive, the top elected official in the county. "It's so bad. ... It's so bad. People might not even be aware it's raining. They're a hundred yards away from where they used to be."

Roberts said Wednesday that floodwaters had washed "well over 200 homes," including a brick house, off their foundations. He added that the water picked up a Ford F-350 truck and carried it into a tree.

Larry Colley, a Garrison, Kentucky, firefighter, was part of a swift-water rescue team that helped an elderly woman trapped in her house Wednesday morning. He said that in Lewis County, rescuers saw people "evacuated, people trapped, people on roofs." Even firefighters attempting rescues were trapped when water enveloped the roads between the fire department and the rescue site, Colley said.

Buddy Rogers, a Kentucky Emergency Management spokesman, said the Federal Emergency Management Agency and state teams will assess damage in Pike County on Wednesday. He said Lewis, Carter, Rowan and Fleming counties were hard-hit overnight, with up to 6 inches of rain. He said the emergency response phase lasted through the night with several swift-water rescues. There were no known fatalities or missing people, Rogers said.

CNN meteorologist Sean Morris said there would be an even a higher chance of thunderstorms and heavy rain in the region Wednesday than there was Tuesday. Some parts of Kentucky are under flood advisories, and over the next five days, some locations could get up to 2 more inches of rain, he said.

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