MAYFIELD, Ky. — High-water rescue crews pulled people from flooded homes and vehicles in Kentucky Wednesday, where waves of thunderstorms prompted flash flood warnings and watches.

The National Weather Service estimated Mayfield set an all-time record for rainfall in a 24-hour period for the state. The rainfall total eclipsed 11.28 inches as of 2 p.m. Wednesday, breaking the previous record set in Louisville back in 1997.

Firefighters and first responders rescued families from at least two homes and dozens of vehicles.

George Rodgers had two visits from firefighters. He told Spectrum News 1, “A second round of rain was coming through and they thought we were going to get flooded twice. We already got flooded once, so they thought a second round was going to come and do it again.”

Lucky for Rodgers, flood waters have been receding. His neighbor across the street, Joey Sandifer, didn’t have water in his home, but like Rodgers, his car was flooded.

He said, “I was hoping it wasn’t going to be that bad.”

Graves County Sheriff Jon Hayden reported seeing “catastrophic” floods with many impassable roads in the area. “Major flooding like many have never seen is occurring,” Hayden said.

Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky., declared a state of emergency Wednesday afternoon in the wake of the flash floods.

“Please pray for Mayfield and areas of Western Kentucky impacted by significant flooding from last night’s storms,” Beshear said. “We’re working to assess the damage and respond. Just like every challenge we’ve faced, we will be there for all those affected. We will get through this together.”

A few houses down from Rodgers and Sandifer, Lee Lovelace was on hand, checking on his uncle’s home. The storm ripped away the back steps.

Lovelace said, “Oh, you couldn’t see anything. I looked out my back window at about 3:30 this morning. And it was just raining.”

There are currently no fatalities or missing persons, Beshear said. They have mobilized five emergency management managers to the area.

Photos and video from social media reviewed by Spectrum News 1 show flood waters several feet above the ground, with residents recording footage of water nearly covering their vehicles.

There were several reports of people being rescued from high water surrounding homes and vehicles in the Mayfield and Wingo areas early Wednesday, according to Keith Cooley, a senior forecaster with the weather service in Paducah, Kentucky. He called it a “life-threatening situation” because so much rain fell in such a short time.

A shelter has been set up at His House Ministries in Mayfield for anyone needing a haven from the flooding, local officials said. 

Mayfield Mayor Kathy O’Nan said she had no reports of injuries or deaths from the flooding after about six inches had fallen since midnight. Emergency officials and police officers were going door to door and finding that most residents had self-evacuated.

“There have been no injuries reported, which is just a blessing,” O’Nan said. She added that power briefly went out in the southern part of the city. Over 2,100 outages have been reported in the region, according to poweroutage.us.

In Mayfield, a city of 10,000 that was especially hard hit by storms that produced deadly tornadoes in Dec. 2021, the flooding appeared concentrated in older neighborhoods, where the overflowing Red Duck Creek usually meanders toward Mayfield Creek, which feeds the Mississippi.

“I know we’re weary of this, but also so hopeful for the future,” O’Nan said. “I don’t think this is going to set us back any, but we all feel that enough is enough.”

Kentucky Transporttion Secretary, Jim Gray, signed an order Wednesday, suspending certain restrictions on commercial motor vehicles involved in restoring power and clearing debris in western Kentucky and the surrounding area. The order temporarily relieves commercial drivers from maximum driving times and weigh station stops while they assist with emergency response. 

“This order is to help avoid any delay for utility crews and other responders coming to the aid of storm victims in a wide swath of Western Kentucky and some other areas,” Secretary Gray said

The order remains in effect until 12:01 a.m. on Aug. 18, 2023.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.