SALYERSVILLE, Ky. (LEX 18) — Magoffin County officials declared a state of emergency as the water continued to rise from the Licking River and surrounding creeks overnight, shutting down roads and forcing people to evacuate.
Hours after the last drop fell, Salyersville's Ramey Memorial Park resembled a fishing pond. Water still filled some buildings along Highway 7.
We were in communication with Matt Wireman, the county's judge executive. He says he barely slept on Sunday night. On Monday, he noted that he could not get to his office because water covered the road.
"And it's literally water as far as the eye can see. There's two or three vehicles that's underwater. This goes all the way down and comes out again on Highway 7 by the Mountain Parkway," said Wireman.
From his home, he tried to coordinate the county's response and prepare for a post-storm clean-up.
"It allows all those resources to become available, even at the state level," said Wireman.
The county's rescue squad was out all night.
"We had some people that tried to drive through water. We had about five water rescues and three evacuations. There could've been more. We just couldn't get to them," said Carter Conley, chief of the Rescue Squad.
At one point, 15 people were staying inside the city's community center to shelter from the storm. LEX 18 spoke with two women this morning who were still at the center. They were rescued overnight. They didn't want to talk on camera, but told me they were thankful for the help. Of course, they now also worry what their home will look like when they return.
