AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Search and rescue continues in Kentucky, where widespread flooding is responsible for at least 11 deaths. Communities are dealing with mudslides, power outages and washed-out roads. Kentucky Public Radio's Justin Hicks reports that it's just one of several disasters to hit the state in recent years, and it's not over yet.
JUSTIN HICKS, BYLINE: Gigi Neace, her husband and their five dogs live in the small mountain town of Busy, Kentucky. They just finished building their house, along with a dog grooming business in the basement. And on Saturday, Neace kept a close eye on the creek outside her home.
GIGI NEACE: In about 30 minutes' time, I turned around, and it was coming up on the steps. I kept hearing things banging into the basement. And it - I mean, it was terrifying.
HICKS: That's when she knew it was time to abandon the house and all their possessions. They called 911 and were rescued in a boat. By the next morning, she says the roof of the house was an island in a muddy sea.
NEACE: We lost our home. (Crying) Our home completely submerged. We got out with our clothes - well, a few clothes that we was able to grab real quick while they rescued us.
HICKS: They specifically built this house high off the ground to be flood resilient. That's because they lost their last one in a mudslide about two years ago.
NEACE: We thought we were safe, and it still took the house again. So it's kind of hard to start rebuilding after two and three times.
HICKS: For Kentuckians, each disaster is devastating, and they seem to be living through more of them. In 2021, historic tornadoes ripped through the plains of western Kentucky, killing 80 people. Then about six months later, historic flash floods swept through the mountains, killing 45. And now there's this. Here's Kentucky state emergency director Eric Gibson.
ERIC GIBSON: And this one is finding its way into that same kind of list. It is a major issue. We've seen serious damages across the state.
HICKS: This event is unique, because every single county in Kentucky is dealing with some flooding.
RICKY KING: We had all the rain. Then right in the middle of it, we had a tornado warning. So it's crazy, crazy weather.
HICKS: That's Ricky King, emergency director in Muhlenberg County. He said they got about seven inches of rain on Saturday followed by two inches of snow the very next morning. Many of the deaths were in cars from people driving into high water.
KING: They've had several wrecks this morning, some runoffs and some flood water. They had a guy earlier this morning that was submerged chest high in a pickup truck.
HICKS: But there is a silver lining. Compared to the previous disasters, the state was better prepared, and so were rescue teams, says Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear.
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ANDY BESHEAR: One of the differences between this flood and July of 2022 is we knew this was coming.
HICKS: He says there were more than 1,000 water rescues conducted in just 24 hours across the state. In the Appalachian city of Hazard, Bailey Richards says even people were ready this time. She helps promote downtown businesses.
BAILEY RICHARDS: As soon as it started happening, I was like, OK, well, I know what I got to do. We got to organize this and this. 'Cause last time we were all just kind of staring there, like, shell-shocked - like, what do we do? And I think now we know.
HICKS: Rivers are still cresting, and the full extent of the destruction likely won't be known for another few days when waters have a chance to recede. But then there's a snowstorm expected to hit the state Tuesday night. For NPR News, I'm Justin Hicks, in Louisville.
(SOUNDBITE OF RIOPY'S "MEDITATION 22") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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