State of emergency in Perry County

PERRY COUNTY, Ky. (WTVQ) —  Judge-Executive Scott Alexander declared a state of emergency in Perry County Monday.

He says it’s because of heavy rain causing mudslides and flooding.

“We’re getting them in places we never dreamed that we would and we know it’s because the ground is so saturated,” says Alexander. “And with rain in the forecast coming I’m sure we’ll continue to see breaks in places that we would not expect them.”

Emergency management director Jerry Stacy says they’ll be assessing damage from this week for anywhere from two to four weeks.

Alexander estimates the cost to repair damage done already is more than $100,000.

He says they’ve had around 40 mudslides and road break incidents and expect only more with bad weather this weekend.

Stacy says in his time here this is the worst he’s seen as far as the ground saturation and this amount of rain for this long of a period of time.

Highway 451 and 1165 have been closed this week due to mudslides and breaks and Stacy says crews are working around the clock to get them back open.

“There’s times though that it becomes impossible to keep a road open and we do the best that we can to serve our citizens,” says Alexander. “Their safety is our number one issue.”

Stacy says this is an evolving event and they’re just one mudslide away from having to close down another road wherever that might be.

County officials warn the public to be extra careful, to not drive through high waters, and watch out for mudslides.

Alexander says where you think there might be a road, it may be gone now.

Stacy warns these slides can come into the roads really quickly and even a foot of water is enough to wash away a vehicle.