BREATHITT COUNTY, Ky. (LEX NEWS) — Four years after historic flooding devastated eastern Kentucky, the scars of the disaster remain and for those who lived through it, so do the memories.
The flooding, which claimed more than 40 lives across the region, left widespread destruction that many residents are still recovering from today.
Stephen Bowling spent four decades as a Jackson County firefighter. He said nothing in his career prepared him for what he witnessed in July of 2022.
"You know, there are images that are, and always will be, burned into your mind of people being plucked from rooftops by helicopters, by standing, helping people and noticing in the five minutes you stood there that water is now around your ankles. To, you know, seeing the first victim you recover," Bowling said.
By daybreak after heavy rains fell, first responders were already overwhelmed — and largely cut off from one another.
"You very quickly got the sense, this is something of historic proportions. We've never seen anything like this," Bowling said.
Communication infrastructure collapsed almost immediately.
"For us, one of the biggest things was communication. Completely wiped out. Cell towers down, phone lines down. Internet out. So we really had no clue what was going on in our county and the neighboring counties. And that's a very, very helpless feeling," Bowling said.
Eleven people in Breathitt County lost their lives during the flooding, and many more were displaced with livelihoods lost. One person, Vanessa Baker, has still not been found.
"We're still looking, any clue, any possibility," Bowling said.
Now, city and county leaders are working to bring people back to Breathitt County and reduce the risk of future disasters. One effort — the Highland Avenue Restoration Project — aims to move residents to higher ground.
Economic recovery is also a priority.
"The number one issue and potential in our county and neighboring counties is ecotourism. And we're seeing huge growth in our county, neighboring counties, and throughout eastern Kentucky," Bowling said.
A monument to the Breathitt County lives lost now stands in downtown Jackson, installed last year, serving as a permanent reminder of the tragedy.
For many survivors, the emotional toll endures.
"There are still people who, when it thunders, when the storms come, when the wind blows, they're transported back to that night. They waded through water. It is — that is probably a lifetime process of recovery and we don't really see the end of that," Bowling said.
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