BEATTYVILLE, Ky. (LEX 18) — Mayor Scott Jackson is urging residents to prepare for the worst and hope for the best after issuing a public safety alert about potential flooding.
"There was no road...the water went all the way up to the new road out there," Jalia McIntosh said. A Beattyville lifelong resident, McIntosh works at Valero, a gas station that took two years to rebuild after historic flooding in 2021.
"We're all concerned about their jobs and thinking about all the stuff that they lost and how much it took to get back," McIntosh added.
At the WPA Building, there's an area where they've measured water levels over the years.
Four years ago, most of the streets had water six to seven feet deep.
"I was in a boat right there at this underpass showing 13 feet," Scott Jackson said.
Jackson, Beattyville Mayor, was among those involved in major water rescues.
"We went to the local trailer park and told people they need to come out. A lot of 'em did, some of them didn't but the real factor in the whole thing, we did not lose a life," Jackson noted.
The mayor showed LEX 18 the water level from 2021 inside city hall.
"We made everybody aware it's better to be safe than sorry," Jackson said.
Have an emergency plan...that's one of the pieces of advice from Jackson. Amy Clemons, a vendor at a local farmers market, is making arrangements...well aware of the high risk of flooding.
"About four or five thousand dollars worth of merchandise here and I don't wanna lose it, so, you got to be prepared," Clemons said.
"Praying, whole lotta praying...watching news, just trying to see what's coming," McIntosh said.
Contact 911 or Lee County Dispatch at 606-464-5030 to get information on Lee County Emergency Management Resources.
