Jackson County judge/executive confirms fatality connected to Saturday’s flooding

JACKSON COUNTY, Ky. (ABC 36 NEWS NOW via LEX NEWS) – Jackson County Judge/Executive Paul Hays confirmed with LEX News on Saturday that one fatality has been confirmed in connection to hazardous flash flooding. According to Hays, the fatality is a result of a vehicle collision that occurred during the storms.

Jackson County has been deeply impacted by Saturday’s flooding, leading the county to issue a state of emergency.

“We had multiple rescues of people that were in cars on the roadways that had to be rescued, and we’ve had eight or nine rescues from homes that were surrounded by water and flooded,” Hays said.

Jackson County is among at least six counties in Kentucky to issue a state of emergency as a result of Saturday’s flooding. Also under a state of emergency is Bullitt, Madison, Meade, Mercer, and Spencer counties.

According to Hays, Jackson County has accumulated over six inches of rain, and at least seven sheriff’s office cruisers were damaged significantly.

“We’ve been just extremely busy today, and we’ve had a lot of damage to our county. It’s a time that going to take a lot of work and a lot of effort to recuperate from this,” he said.

At this time, Jackson County authorities are still determining if any residents have gone missing as a result of the flood. Hays did confirm that several residents have been displaced from their homes. As remedy, Jackson County has organized a temporary shelter.

“We are going through a difficult time right here today, but we’ll recuperate from this, and we’ll get past it in time,” said Hays.

In the meantime, Hays is urging residents to stay home and off the road until officials have cleaned up the roads. He said more information will be released soon.

“So we have a lot of damage, and it would be better if the public would stay off the roads as much as possible this afternoon. We may have some more rain today. We don’t know that yet or not, but regardless, we want to make sure that roadways are safe and that they are cleared up real good, so that people know what’s going on when they’re driving on it,” said Hays.