Video captured the moments when two elderly women were pulled from the ‘devastating and deadly’ flooding in Kentucky which has left at least 30 people dead.
Footage from one of the harrowing rescues shows a Good Samaritan saving a 98-year-old and her family who were tapped inside their home by floating with them through the raging floodwaters.
Film from another shows search and rescue crews airlifting an 83-year-old woman from a flooded house after four other family members were helicoptered to safety.
The Kentucky National Guard has conducted nearly 700 air rescues since the flooding began last week, and more than 600 more by boat.
The dramatic footage comes as emergency services are continuing to search for survivors of the unprecedented flooding, which Governor Andy Beshear has warned could continue with the chance of rain returning to the region.
‘We’re gonna be there for you today, tomorrow, next week, next year. We’re not going anywhere. We are going to help you rebuild’ Beshear said in a video statement yesterday, reassuring desperate citizens that help was on the way while cautioning them to remain vigilant as the dangerous conditions continue.
Also complicating the situation is a heat wave expected to hit Kentucky later this week as residents continue to go without clean water. Temperatures are expected to reach the mid-80s and 90s beginning on Wednesday. Coupled with the high humidity brought about by the moisture in the flooded region, feels-like temperatures are expected to hover around 100 degrees.
This is the incredible moment a Good Samaritan rescued a 98-year-old and her family who were trapped inside their home amid ‘devastating and deadly’ flooding in Kentucky which has left 30 dead. The man’s identity is unknown
Missy Crovetti, from Green Oaks, Illinois, said her grandmother Mae Amburgey, uncle Larry Amburgey and her brother Gregory Amburgey were in the home in Whitesburg, Kentucky, as it completely flooded, with photos showing 98-year-old Mae sat on her almost-submerged bed
Missy Crovetti, from Green Oaks, Illinois, said her grandmother Mae Amburgey, uncle Larry Amburgey and her brother Gregory Amburgey were in the home in Whitesburg, Kentucky, as it completely flooded, with photos showing 98-year-old Mae sitting on her almost-submerged bed.
As he drove to get fuel on Thursday morning, local resident Randy Polly came across floodwaters which left him stranded on a patch of dry land not far from Mae’s home.
He captured the moment he saw a ‘hero’ save Mae and her family from the rising waters. Filming from a small distance away at around 9am, the man swam over to the house and started banging on the door and window before entering the house and helped bring the family members out of the property.
The anonymous man’s rescue took around 30 minutes – and the three relatives are said to be safe and doing well, Missy Crovetti told CNN.
Mr Polly told the news outlet that as he watched this scene unfold he could hear people shouting, ‘Get me help, get help,’ and that 911 calls amounted to nothing as the emergency serves were ‘overwhelmed’ and ‘unresponsive to his calls’.
Randy made an appeal for help to MailOnline. He said: ‘We need supplies. Please help us.’
Missy Crovetti has launched a fundraiser for flooding help needs after her 98-year-old grandmother, uncle and brother had to swim out of their home.
On Sunday, the Wolfe County Search & Rescue team shared footage of the helicopter rescue of a family of five who were trapped in the attic of their flooded out home
On Sunday, the Wolfe County Search & Rescue team shared footage of the helicopter rescue of a family of five who were trapped in the attic of their flooded home.
A rescue team on a raft approached the home by water and broke a window to reach the family and bring them up to the roof of the house one by one. A helicopter standing by then hoisted the family out of harm’s way.
Filmed from the rescue crew’s raft, the powerful downdraft of the helicopter can be seen sending water spraying and trees swaying violently amidst the brown floodwaters which reach the roofs of the surrounding buildings.
‘Although team members had moved to a safe distance during the hoist, you can still witness the power of the rotator wash and it’s impact on the teams ability to maintain position,’ the rescue team wrote in the post, conveying the difficulty of the operation.
The rescue of the 83-year-old female member of the family was caught on camera. She could be seen clinging to the pulley as she was hoisted high up into the safety of the chopper far above.
‘Teams coming together to save lives. We would also like to thank the other countless agencies from across the state and beyond that came in to assist,’ Wolfe County Search & Rescue wrote.
Members of the Tennessee Task Force One search and rescue team wade through the debris-filled Troublesome Creek, after a search dog detected the scent of a potential victim in Perry County, Kentucky
‘Devastating and deadly’ flooding in Kentucky has left 28 dead so far. Pictured are Kentucky National Guard Soldiers and Airmen in a boat across a severely flooded area
Kentucky National Guard Soldiers and Airmen are pictured aiding flood relief efforts in response to the devastating floods
Rescue team speak to community members about three people that are unaccounted for on Highway 476 in Jackson, Kentucky
Kentucky’s governor Andy Beshear predicted bodies will continue to be found ‘for weeks’ as the death toll from devastating flooding rose to 28 on Sunday, with rescuers continuing a long and grueling effort to locate victims.
Some areas in the mountainous region are still inaccessible following the flooding in the state’s east that turned roads into rivers, washed out bridges and swept away houses. Off-and-on rain plus poor cell phone service are also complicating rescue efforts.
Rescuers in Kentucky are taking the search effort door-to-door in worsening weather conditions as they brace for a long and grueling effort to locate victims of flooding that devastated the state’s east.
‘This is one of the most devastating, deadly floods that we have seen in our history… And at a time that we’re trying to dig out, it’s raining,’ Governor Andy Beshear told NBC’s Meet the Press.
‘We’re going to work to go door to door, work to find, again, as many people as we can. We’re even going to work through the rain. But the weather is complicating it.’
A Perry County school bus and other debris are seen in a creek near Jackson, Kentucky on Sunday. The death count is now at 28, with more expected in the coming days
Some areas in the mountainous region are still inaccessible following the flooding in the state’s east that turned roads into rivers, washed out bridges and swept away houses. Off-and-on rain plus poor cell phone service are also complicating rescue efforts
Reggie Ritchie comforts wife Della as they pause while clearing out their destroyed manufactured home destroyed by the flooding from Troublesome Creek behind them in Fisty, Kentucky
Local volunteers unload donated goods for the community in Buckhorn, Kentucky, after devastating floods left many without homes and belongings
‘This is one of the most devastating, deadly floods that we have seen in our history… And at a time that we’re trying to dig out, it’s raining,’ Governor Andy Beshear told NBC’s Meet the Press
The number of dead in the flooding, caused by torrential rain that began on Wednesday, is expected to rise even further.
‘We’re going to be finding bodies for weeks, many of them swept hundreds of yards, maybe a quarter mile-plus from where they were lost,’ Beshear added.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Beshear became emotional talking about four children who were found dead in Knott County.
‘It says ‘minors,” the governor said looking at a list of the 15 people confirmed dead in the county, ‘They are children. The oldest one is in second grade,’ he said.
The governor toured flooded areas and made stops in three counties on Sunday. Across the rain-soaked portions of the state, more than 350 people are living temporarily in shelters, he said.
Receding floodwaters had left a thick coating of dust on the streets as dark clouds presaged more rain ahead.
Some 35 miles (55 kilometers) south in the tiny community of Buckhorn, volunteers at a distribution center had 700 to 800 people had come through on Sunday alone to collect donated supplies ranging from food to paper towels and toiletries.
Power outages continue to plague the state, with at least 10,000 people in eastern Kentucky without power as of Monday morning. 60,000 water service connections are either dry or under boil advisories. Officials say bottled water is one of the state’s most needed donation supplies.
ATV drivers ferrying generator fuel and water drive around Jessica Willett’s home, which was torn from its foundations during flooding
Rescuers in Kentucky are taking the search effort door-to-door in worsening weather conditions as they brace for a long and grueling effort to locate victims of flooding that devastated the state’s east
The North Fork Kentucky River, which flooded due to heavy rains in parts of eastern Kentucky, in Jackson County, Kentucky
Debris surrounds a badly damaged home near Jackson after historic flooding swept through eastern Kentucky, leaving many with devastated homes
Corissa Creek (left) and Haley Gayheart help clean at the house of a friend who is eight months pregnant and unable to clean in Jackson, Kentucky
The floods hit a region of Kentucky that was already suffering from grinding poverty, driven by the decline of the coal industry that was the heart of its economy, taking everything from people who could least afford it.
‘It wiped out areas where people didn’t have that much to begin with,’ Beshear added.
Some areas in eastern Kentucky reported receiving more than eight inches (20cm) of rain within 24 hours.
The water level of the North Fork of the Kentucky River at Whitesburg rose to a staggering 20 feet (6.09m) within hours, well above its previous record of 14.7 feet (4.4m).
The National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center said: ‘The threat of flash flooding will continue through the afternoon and early evening hours from showers and thunderstorms with very heavy rainfall rates.’
President Joe Biden has issued a disaster declaration for the Kentucky flooding, allowing federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts.
The eastern Kentucky flooding is the latest in a series of extreme weather events that scientists say are an unmistakable sign of climate change.
Nearly 60 people were killed in western Kentucky by a tornado in December 2021 – a disaster that Beshear said offered lessons for current efforts on the other end of the state.
‘We learned a lot of lessons in western Kentucky on those devastating tornados about seven months ago, so we are providing as much support as we can and we are moving fast from all over the state to help out,’ he told CNN on Saturday.