The death toll is up to 39 people because water, electricity has been restored
Number of deaths from flooding in Eastern Kentucky It rose to 39 on Thursday, with Governor Andy Beshear saying the area was working towards the recovery phase of the crisis after torrential rains destroyed hundreds of homes and wiped out entire communities. last month.
The governor did not identify the victim, though two Breathitt County women are still missing, according to Hargis Epperson, the county coroner.
Number of people dead including Aaron “Mick” Crawford, a Knott County teen fell ill and died a few days after assisting with recovery efforts. The flooding was the result of storms that moved through the area in late July.
Storms persist in the area, with even more risk of rain and immediate water withdrawal in areas. But with wet weather behind the region, Beshear said on Thursday that the immediate crisis has subsided – now, he said, the focus will shift to recovery.
According to Beshear, the 39 flood victims came from several counties:
- Breathitt Particle: 9
- Letcher Beads: 3
- Clay granules: 2
- Knott Beads: 18
- Perry County: 7
The number of people being housed in shelters has fallen amid recovery efforts, he said. As of Thursday, 321 people are currently in state parks and another 162 are in group shelters.
Many wastewater management systems have been restored during the past two weeks, he added. After the flood, 18 systems in the area were damaged.
Beshear noted that donating drinking water was important right after the flood, Beshear noted, but most countries in the region have reached the point where donations are no longer needed.
“Our goal was to bring so much water to these counties that they said, ‘Please stop bringing us water,’ and we’ve achieved that in almost every county,” says Beshear.
However, while water use has been restored for many people in the area, many areas are still being advised to boil water – around 35,000 people are still advised to boil water before using it. usage, he said, was down from about 46,000 in July. 28. Power outages, meanwhile, fell from more than 40,000 on July 28 to 6,325 on Thursday, Beshear said, “and those outages are mostly confined to a few areas.”
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However, the work continues. Beshear, a Democrat in the Republican-majority state, said he spoke with members of the state legislature about a special session on how to fund recovery efforts. . He still doesn’t have a date for the session but hopes to “do it as soon as possible.”
“Everything is going well. There is real progress. There are discussions,” he said. “There is no disagreement. There are different opinions on how to achieve the same goal, but all are on the right track.”
To find flood resources in the meantime, head over to governornor.ky.gov/floodresources. Donations to the Team Eastern Kentucky Flood Relief Fund, set up in the aftermath of the crisis to direct resources to victims, have exceeded $5 million, Beshear said Thursday.
Contact Caleb Stultz at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @Caleb_Stultz.