Powell County residents recovering after flash flooding

(Clay City, KY.)

The National Weather Service estimates that Powell County saw between three to four inches of rainfall on Friday, with an additional ½ inch to 1 inch on Saturday and Sunday.

Powell County residents want to know when this water will start to recede so they can get on the road to recovery.

Wallace Reed lives at a home on Black Creek Drive in the Clay City Area and his driveway washed out from Friday’s flooding.

"The bridge is fine, as far as i can tell. The water hasn’t gone down enough to where I can get down there and look and see, but the driveway didn’t make it," said Reed.

The bridge sits at 18 feet above the creek level and Reed saw the water rise to about four feet on top of that.  His driveway washed away with the river, but he doesn’t let that stop him from getting around.

"I’ve got a four wheel drive and I drive through the field.  There’s a graveyard on top of the hill and I go up by the graveyard and go out the back way.  I drive through the creek.  It’s really shallow up there and it’s got a solid rock bottom, so I can drive through the creek to get out," Reed said.

This isn’t the first time Reed has noticed water on his property.

"The creek empties into the river behind my barn back here.  The river backs over it all the time, but it’s still water.  It’s not running water like this," said Reed.

It’s going to take a few months for his family to recover from this flash flooding. 

"I’m going to have to build a retaining wall to keep what I put in here, there.  So, if this does it again, if we get another rain like we got, it’s going to wash right out again.  So, I’ve got to build something strong enough so it won’t do that," said Reed.

Reed remains humbled by this experience, but says he’s going to continue to dig his way out.

"I wouldn’t want anybody to go through this. It’s a mess. It’s a lot of work to get it back," said Reed. 

Even though the National Weather Service only reported three to four inches of rainfall in Powell County on Friday, residents say some areas saw five or more inches of rainfall in a 24 hour period.

Alycia Dahmer, ABC 36 News.