Beshear confirms 35 Kentuckians have died from eastern Kentucky floods

Eastern Kentucky, ravaged by floods for days, will unfortunately continue to see rain Monday.

As of Monday afternoon, Gov. Andy Beshear says 35 people have died in Kentucky. The majority of those deaths are from Knott County, where four children died.

It was previously reported that six children were among the dead, but Beshear said Saturday two of the bodies were later identified as adults. There are five counties with death tolls, Beshear said. He called the disaster "devastating." 

Beshear said he expects the death toll to increase as crews continue rescue operations. More rain is expected in the coming days.

"Continue to pray for the families that have suffered an unfathomable loss, some have lost almost everyone in their household," he said. "I'm worried we're gonna be finding bodies for weeks to come." 

A bright spot in a seas of darkness, many of the communities hit the hardest now have an overwhelming amount of volunteers.

"Now that we can reach many of these areas; the donations, the food, the water is flooding in," Beshear said.

14 emergency shelters are currently assisting 483 people as of Monday morning.

More than 1,400 people have been rescued by boat and helicopter, and 142 people are being sheltered in temporary shelters, Beshear said. Fourteen counties and three cities have declared emergencies. 

There are 12,492 people without power in the region, Beshear says unlike in western Kentucky, standing water has slowed restoration efforts.

He said there are roughly 27,000 households and businesses without water, there are approximately 40,000 under a boil water advisory. Some areas won't have water for months.

Travel trailers to temporarily house displaced residents have started making their way to eastern Kentucky.

As of Sunday, there have been 8,935 individual donations and more than $1.1 million raised to help survivors.

Donations help with food, shelter and other necessities of life and go towards any emergency funds that come into the area.

The governor said the first expenditure will be for providing money to the families who have lost loved ones so they can have funerals.

"The least we ought to be able to do is grieve together," he said. "It's the least we can do, is to be there with these folks in this incredibly difficult time."

'By far the worst' State of emergency declared

Governor Beshear declared a state of emergency Thursday morning, enacting the National Guard to begin mobilizing for rescue operations.

The governor took a helicopter fly-over of some of the impacted communities on Friday, later saying this flood is "by far the worst" he's ever seen.

"Hundreds of homes, their ball fields, their parks, businesses, under more water than I think any of us have ever seen in that area, absolutely impassable in numerous spots, so just devastating," he said Friday afternoon.

Beshear says many more Kentuckians are still missing, but an exact number isn't reliable due to the level of destruction.

"Communication is still very difficult. We're trying to amplify cell service," Beshear said. "It's going to be very challenging to get a good number, but what people can do is to report their unaccounted loved one."

The governor says those with missing loved ones should email state police at [email protected] or call 1-800-RED-CROSS. He said to not call 911 for missing people, it should only be used for emergencies.

"We're gonna do our best to find them all," he said.

Shelters have been established to help displaced people. Those shelters are located in the following state parks:

What happened? 8-10.5" of rain in 48 hours

As rainfall hammered Appalachia this week, water tumbled down hillsides and into valleys and hollows where it swelled creeks and streams coursing through small towns. 

The torrent engulfed homes and businesses and trashed vehicles. Mudslides marooned some people on steep slopes.

When the rain finally let up early Friday, parts of eastern Kentucky had received between 8 and 10 1/2 inches over 48 hours. But some waterways were still not expected to crest until Saturday.

"I believe it will be one of the most significant, deadly floods that we have had in Kentucky in at least a very long time," Beshear said.

The floodwaters raging through Appalachia were so swift that some people trapped in their homes couldn’t be immediately reached, said Floyd County Judge-Executive Robbie Williams.

Just to the west in hard-hit Perry County, authorities said some people remained unaccounted for and almost everyone in the area suffered some sort of damage.

“We’ve still got a lot of searching to do,” Jerry Stacy, the county’s emergency management director, said.

'We are grateful.' Incoming federal aid

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) response teams are on the ground in eastern Kentucky assisting with rescue efforts.

Beshear said Saturday additional FEMA teams are arriving in the state soon to help with processing damage claims.

Renters and homeowners in five counties, including Breathitt, Clay, Knott, Letcher and Perry, can now apply for individual disaster assistance.

How to file for individual assistance:

FEMA is also providing 18 truck loads of clean drinking water, as many parts of the region are without drinking water or under a water boil advisory.

He reassured Kentuckians impacted by the catastrophic flooding that help is on the way and will remain there as long as it's needed.

"We're gonna be there for them today," Beshear said. "We're gonna be there for them once they're safe and when they're thinking of what's next as well."

"We asked for this last night; it came early this morning -- one of the fastest disaster declarations we've seen, and we are grateful for it," the governor said.

FEMA has also approved additional disaster funding for eastern Kentucky after Biden added Individual Assistance to the Major Disaster declaration. The federal funding is available to people affected by the floods in Breathitt, Clay, Knott, Letcher and Perry counties.

'Boots on the ground' Louisville groups head east

Multiple organizations are now getting ready to assist, like the American Red Cross and the Veteran's Club.

Within 12 hours of receiving a call asking if she could make the trip, Cindy Keeney was already packing up supplies.                               

"[It's] an opportunity to give back -- it's an opportunity to do something in times of crisis," Keeney said.

Jeremy Harrell, the founder of the Veteran's Club, said they're preparing to head to southeastern Kentucky, just like they did for Mayfield.

Meanwhile, the humanitarian organization Save the Children has a base in Madison County. And through more than 400 staff members, they're providing necessities for the kids impacted. 

Shane Garver, head of Education, Hunger and Resilience work in the U.S. with Save the Children, said they have diapers, wipes, car seats and cribs.

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