Two adults, two children, and a dog were rescued Saturday night in a joint effort between the Breeding Fire Department and Adair County Emergency Management.
After several inches of rain led to flooded roads and hazardous conditions across the county, a call came in to Emergency Management Director Grant Loy.
A property owner on Milltown Road reported that four people who lived in the home were surrounded by encroaching water and requested emergency services to evacuate the house.
While no water had breached the home yet, outside, approximately four feet of swift floodwater had risen and was making its way to the structure.
With more rain slated to come, coupled with high winds, the family was concerned that the floodwaters would continue to rise throughout the night and make evacuation more difficult, or that the water may even enter the home.
“I had been down there earlier that day. It was definitely swift water,” said Loy.
The landowner’s call was relayed to the Adair County E-911 Center, which dispatched the Breeding Fire Department to the 800 block of Milltown. Four rescuers from the fire department deployed approximately 175 feet from the home and made their way to the house’s deck for the rescue.
Brandon Harvey, captain of Breeding Fire Department said, “We were able to walk across and use an inflatable raft. We put those individuals in life jackets and then we moved them back over by using the raft. They were able to walk off their deck and straight into our raft.”
Loy stated that with the swift, rising water and the wind, he was glad that the rescue operation had a happy ending.
“The water had not gotten to the residence yet. It was very close. We had high winds and the water was moving very quickly. It was a dangerous position obviously for our responders to be in, but it was also very dangerous for those people where they were at due to the rising water,” he said.
Following the rescue operation, the family denied medical treatment from Adair County Ambulance Service. They then went to stay at a neighbor’s house where they were safe. Harvey says no floodwater actually entered the home, which was surprising given how rapid it was.
“The water was seriously swift. There have been I don’t know how many deaths attributed to this weekend’s rainfall,” Harvey said. “I am glad we had a positive outcome with this rescue. Not all swift water rescues and evacuations end successfully.”
Storm Led to Evacuations, Caused Damage
Emergency services were prepared for the pending storm and helped prepare others as much as possible. They urged residents in areas of Creekview Drive and Conover Lane to evacuate, knowing that those areas were susceptible to flooding.
A small building that had recently been placed on low ground on Creekview Drive washed away during the flooding. John Cox was on Ky. 80 east of Columbia on the Russell Creek bridge and was able to video the building floating in the creek until it crashed into the bridge and sunk.
He shared the video on social media.
The local rescue was one of more than 1,000 performed in the state this weekend, according to Governor Andy Beshear.
Beginning Friday night, rainfall across the heaviest-hit parts of the commonwealth totaled three to six inches, which led to all 120 Kentucky counties reporting some level of flooding. Adair County has received almost twice it’s yearly average so far this year in rainfall.
Loy could attest to how these numbers played out locally.
“We had approximately 20-plus roadways closed due to high water,” Loy said. “The Columbia City Street Department, Adair County Road Department, and State Highway Department were out placing signage and barriers. The most impacted roads were Highway 206 and East 80. Those flooded areas caused a lot of issues re-routing emergency services… When you come up on a flooded roadway, turn around. Don’t drown.”
Saturday’s flood was just the beginning of an eventful weather weekend, with the evening ending with a tornado watch and the following morning featuring a blanket of snow across the county.
By Kenley Godby
kenley@adairvoice.com
