Beshear: More than 230 rescued from flooded Kentucky apartment complexes

Gov. Andy Beshear praised the work of search and rescue crews after more than 230 people were successfully removed from a flooded Kentucky apartment complex on Monday.

Beshear, at a news conference in hard-hit Pike County on Monday afternoon, said search-and-rescue teams were able to remove 237 people from two Martin County apartment complexes that were surrounded by water.

The name of the apartment complexes was not released.

“In Martin County, we had two apartment complexes that were going to be without power for multiple days,” Beshear said Monday. “ The water was rising and the parking lot around it was underwater, and we were worried about the safety and life of a lot of families that are there.

“Thanks to nine separate helicopters, including several from out of state, National Guard and KSP (Kentucky State Police), as well as a number of boats from a lot of different places, we have now evacuated 237 Kentuckians,” Beshear said.

Beshear said he met with some of those families at a nearby airport.

Six people were still being rescued at the time Beshear spoke around 2 p.m. Monday.

Search-and-rescue operations were still ongoing through much of Kentucky on Monday afternoon after the state was hit with snow and rain on Saturday and Sunday, causing flooding in all 120 counties.

Beshear said more than 12,000 Kentucky homes and businesses were still without power as temperatures throughout the state were expected to plummet on Tuesday.

“If your power is not scheduled to come back on, please, get to a warm place,” Beshear said.

In addition to lack of power, hundreds of roads and bridges were knocked out due to the flooding.

Pike County Judge Executive Ray Jones said at least 10 county bridges were out in Pike County alone.

Beshear urged people not to drive on roads covered with water.

“There is still high water in a lot of places. There’s still a lot of washed-out roads. We need to communicate to people: Don’t go around the barriers. Don’t go through that water. We have already lost enough.”

As of 7 p.m. Monday, at least 12 people have died due to the flooding and severe weather event. Three of those deaths were in Pike County, according to state and local officials.

Jones and others in emergency management also pleaded with the public not to bring clothes to Eastern Kentucky and other hard-hit areas.

“We need water and cleaning supplies,” Jones said.

This story was originally published February 17, 2025 at 4:47 PM.

Beth Musgrave

Lexington Herald-Leader

Beth Musgrave has covered government and politics for the Herald-Leader for more than a decade. A graduate of Northwestern University, she has worked as a reporter in Kentucky, Indiana, Mississippi, Illinois and Washington D.C. Support my work with a digital subscription