Flooding devastates region
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.
Flooding devastates region
Photo by Dallas Proffitt Scott County Rescue Squad had a busy weekend as waters rose to flood levels across the region. The emergency team conducted several welfare checks, including along O&W Rd, pictured, and assisted stranded residents to evacuate danger prone areas.
Road Closures plague Scott County; State of Emergency across KY border
By Shane Gilreath
[email protected]
Millions of Americans were under flood warnings over the weekend. Major rainfall through last week led to historic flooding in parts of East Tennessee, Southeastern Kentucky, Southwest Virginia, and along the West Virginia border, compounded by heavy winds that took down trees and caused power outages across much of the area. As additional precipitation moved into the region on Saturday, Scott County was not exempted from potential catastrophe, as rain continued to fall throughout Sunday, accompanied, at times, by light snow. With soil already saturated by the preceding day’s downpours, rivers and creeks quickly swelled throughout the four states, overflowing in low-lying areas, resulting in at least 8 deaths across the Kentucky state line.
“Flooding is already taking place on some back roads, conditions may deteriorate quickly,” announced Sheriff Brian Keeton on Saturday, who encouraged residents to stay safe by avoiding driving through flooded areas. Keeton’s statement came on the heels of Scott County Emergency Management Agency warning citizens of potential dangers the day before.
“If you live in a flood prone area,” EMA advised, “please be aware of the amount of rain that’s forecasted for (Scott County) over the next couple of days. Don’t wait until it’s too late to evacuate. Be prepared. Have a plan. Emergency personnel may not be able to get to you.” According to the agency, there were several roadblocks in place on Sunday morning due to flooding, downed trees and power outages. By Saturday afternoon, Paint Rock Fire Department announced that Helenwood roads had been shut down due to waters. As the rainfall continued to accumulate, problems continued across the area, especially in back lying areas, prompting the Scott County Rescue Squad to put responders on standby.
According to a statement to SCN, the Rescue Squad conducted a welfare check on O&W Road in an area that is historically bad to flood. An evacuation took place when the rescue team was called to assist a wheelchair bound resident in the Paint Rock Road area, where the team assisted in getting her safely into the care of family members.
While rainfall was predicted to end across many areas early this week, the threat of flooding remains in effect throughout the week of February 17th with several rivers and waterways not expected to crest for several additional days. Compounding the issues, wintery weather is forecasted on the heel of the rain, beginning Tuesday night into Wednesday.
Across the most heavily impacted states, officials have declared multiple roadways as impassable, where rainfall amounted to excesses of 5-8 inches during the first half of the weekend.
“Scott County had some minor flooding with a few temporary shutdown roads. EMA has said that around Helenwood Loop will be closed until sometimes Tuesday,” said Scott County Mayor Jerried Jeffers, who acknowledged that the county had fared better than their Kentucky neighbors, where Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency with significant flooding just north of the Tennessee state line.
