BREATHITT COUNTY, Ky. — The communities hardest hit by July’s flash flooding are some of the smallest in the region, and many of the residents are elderly and living in remote areas.
It’s still hard to imagine how high the water got on July 27.
“That first plank below the window, it was up to that one that goes across the there. See where it tore the meter off the wall? It took everything,” Judy Hudson explained the terrifying ordeal. Fast moving flood water reached the second floor of Judy Hudson’s home.
Troublesome Creek sits 10 yards below the road and 40 yards from Hudson’s front door and yet water still reached the second floor. The Kentucky Air National Guard rescued 19 people before being swept away during the final days of July. Hudson crawled into a basket and was carried away to safety. “The helicopters started flying over and we were waiving stuff out the windows and they come and got us,” Hudson told Spectrum News 1 in August.
Like so many Kentuckians caught in the flood, Hudson has suffered a heavy loss. Hudson’s sister died in her home just a quarter mile down the road. “You have no idea. It’s hard and if my sister would have lived it would have been different, you know? It wouldn’t have mattered. It’s hard,” Hudson said.
Three months later, Hudson and her family work on their home while sleeping in a camper donated by a local church. They’ve yet to replace the flood damaged flooring or drywall. A musty odor is powerful inside the home, where Hudson still spends a lot of her time during the day.
“It’s been pretty busy trying to get everything straightened up. They’ve been hauling away a lot of cars, trying to get stuff to run where we can do this and that,” Hudson explained.