Death toll from KY floods, snow rises to 14. And more winter weather is on the way
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Eastern KY suffers massive flooding
Raging flood waters over the weekend, and severe cold weather, have claimed the lives of 14 people across Kentucky.
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The death toll from the weekend’s devastating floods and recent snow has risen to 14, Gov. Andy Beshear announced Tuesday morning.
The governor announced two new deaths out of Jefferson County. Beshear said the victims, a man and a woman, appeared to be homeless and died from hypothermia.
“Let’s remember that these 14 fatalities are not just a number, these are children of God. These are Kentuckians that are missed by their families and by their communities,” Beshear said.
Multiple days of rain last week, followed by constant heavy rain Saturday, resulted in flooding across the state. About 3 to 6 inches of rain fell across the state and all 120 counties in Kentucky reported flooding, according to Chris Bailey, chief meteorologist for WKYT.
The floods resulted in 11 deaths. Three of the victims were in Pike County. Three victims were in Hart County. Clay, Floyd, Hardin, Scott and Washington counties each had one victim.
Winter weather resulted in the other three deaths, including a crash last week in Nelson County.
On Tuesday Hart County Coroner Anthony Roberts identified two of the county’s victim as Amy Philpott, 35, and her 7-year-old daughter, who he declined to name because she is a juvenile. The two died as a result of the flood in Bonnieville.
“She got lost on the road during the storm because some of the roadways were flooded …and the car was inundated with water,” Roberts said.
On Tuesday Pike County Coroner Kevin Hall identified that county’s flood victims as Robert Kelly, 71, Scottie Bryant, 70, and Gary Damron, 72.
Damron died in floodwaters while driving in his truck in the Fed’s Creek area, Hall said. Kelly died in the flood at his home at Majestic. Bryant was swept away while on foot at Peyton’s Creek, he said.
The Kentucky National Guard, along with Kentucky State Police and National Guards from Indiana and Tennessee, have performed numerous water rescues. More than 230 people were successfully removed from a flooded Martin County apartment complex on Monday.
Kentucky State Police telecommunicators have received 9,663 calls for service since Saturday, according to Beshear. KSP will now accept reports of missing persons and wellness check requests. People wanting to utilize those services are encouraged to contact their local KSP post.
“If you are worried about somebody, you haven’t heard from them, you know where they live, these are numbers to call,” Beshear said.
Beshear did not yet have a number for how many people may be missing. Cell phone service stayed online during the entirety of the flooding, which raises confidence that the number could be low.
“We don’t think that this will be as big as we saw during some of those other disasters,” Beshear said, citing deadly 2021 tornados.
Beshear on Monday toured the damage in Pike County, which was one of 44 counties to submit a written disaster declaration to Beshear. about 13 additional counties submitted verbal disaster declarations, while 19 cities submitted written or verbal disaster declarations, Beshear said.
“Significant damage to homes, the inside of homes, so many people having lost just about everything on the first floor. Businesses had 6 to 8 feet of water through them,” Beshear said.
About 191 people are being sheltered at four Kentucky State Parks, Beshear said. Jenny Wiley State Park in Prestonsburg is hosting most of the evacuees – 112 adults and 31 children.
Donations needed for flood victims’ funerals
Beshear encouraged people who were able to donate to the Team Kentucky Storm Relief Fund to assist victims of the storms. Beshear said the fund has received just over $50,000 from 561 donors, but more is needed to cover funeral costs.
“Just to cover funerals, we’re going to need a little bit more help,” Beshear said. “Remember, we mourn together first, and none of these families that have lost their loved ones to such tragic circumstances should have to worry about being able to afford a funeral or should have to wait for reimbursement for one.”
All money donated to the fund goes directly to the people impacted by the storms. Beshear said the fund covers funeral costs first before assisting in other areas.
Beshear applies for FEMA individual assistance
Beshear has asked President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for individual assistance through FEMA. If approved, there would be serious needs assistance funds available of $770, cleaning and sanitizing funds of $350, and potential applications with a max grant award of $43,600, Beshear said.
“From what I saw yesterday, I think this is an event where people might not have that max amount of damage, but they will have lost a whole lot, especially on their first floor,” Beshear said. “Appliances and other parts of their home, and there will need to be some serious repairs, electrical, HVAC and others, to make their home habitable again.”
More bad weather on the way
A winter storm was expected to arrive in Kentucky Tuesday afternoon and leave some parts of the state with a significant amount of snow. Beshear said emergency management officials are monitoring the forecast and are prepared to assist people in need.
Areas of Western Kentucky could get up to 8 inches of snow, while areas in Eastern Kentucky already damaged by the floods could get 6 to 7 inches.
“With what we have seen in the weather recently, we are worried that we could get the higher end of this weather,” Beshear said.
Cold temperatures are also a concern, as some areas could see wind chill values in the negatives Wednesday morning. Beshear said people who are unable to heat their homes by Tuesday afternoon are encouraged to seek an emergency shelter.
There are 15 shelters open across the state in Breathitt, Clay, Henderson, Knox, Lawrence, Martin, McCreary, Owen, Pulaski and Webster counties.
Anyone in need of an emergency shelter should contact their local emergency management agency and ask about shelters. Beshear hopes more will open soon.
“If you can’t safely heat your home by this afternoon, either call and go stay with friends, look at one of these shelters, go stay with family,” Beshear said. “Lets make sure that we don’t lose anybody else to these cold temperatures.”
The Kentucky National Guard, which worked to rescue flood victims, will also assist with the incoming snowstorm.
“There are some concerns there because of people being stranded, maybe not being able to get out because of mudslides on the road, so we want to make sure that we’re ready,” Beshear said.
‘We’ll work through this issue.’
Eric Gibson, Director of Kentucky Emergency Management, said his office is still helping flood victims while preparing for the snowstorm. He said he expected fewer water missions on Tuesday, which would allow crews to rest and get ready for the snowstorm.
There is a backlog of calls for assistance at the emergency management center. Gibson said they are increasing the staff at the call center to alleviate the backup.
“We understand that that cold weather that’s coming in is going to increase the need for our team to provide resources to those individuals that may be in those situations, so we’re going to expand our efforts on that as we continue to stabilize the ongoing flooding situation,” Gibson said.
There are just under 300 roads across the state closed due to weather damage, according to Beshear. Gibson is asking counties not heavily impacted by the floods to donate equipment to help repair damaged roads.
“With that snowstorm coming, I understand you’re probably not going to be able to release your plows and your trucks,” Gibson said. “We’ve got this additional need that’s going to lay on top of the ongoing need, but we’ll work through this issue.”
Gibson thinks it’s going to take several days to get the roads back open.
This story was originally published February 18, 2025 at 10:45 AM.
