BEATTYVILLE, Ky. (LEX 18) — Beattyville, a small mountain town in Kentucky, is under water following a downpour of rain this past weekend. On Monday, boats could be seen floating down Main Street past a local barbershop.
"The people who've been here a long time have compared this to the flood of 1957," said Lee County Judge/Executive Chuck Caudill.
Roads, homes, cars, and businesses, like the local Valero gas station, are flooded.
Caudill says most streets around Beattyville have water six to seven feet deep. County crews and volunteers began evacuations Sunday night.
"We really had to do some serious lifesaving because they were literally walking out of houses with two to three feet of water in them," said Caudill.
As of Monday afternoon, officials counted six major water rescues, 25 evacuations along with the rescue of six dogs by a kayaker.
The town's man-made technology was no match for mother nature. The Middle, South, and North Forks meet to form the Kentucky River in Beattyville.
"Once the river breached the pump station and started filling up Beattyville, we jumped in our kayaks, humvees going from trailer to trailer knocking on windows and knocking on doors," said Caudill.
He expects the flooding to get worse before it gets better. Twelve people are currently staying at a local shelter that was set up and used during the last snow storm.
