ERMINE, Ky. -- Heavy rains caused extensive flooding and forced the evacuation of dozens of families Tuesday in Letcher County near the Kentucky-Virginia border.
State police said an earthen dam holding back a coal mine silt pond above the community of Crafts Colly, about two miles northeast of Whitesburg, showed signs of stress but remained intact.
State police at Hazard said 70 families in the Ermine-Crafts Colly area of Letcher County were evacuated when reports the dam had broken came from CB radio operators in the area.
Joey Burke, Letcher County coordinator for the state Disaster and Emergency Services office, said, 'As soon as we got the first reports, we ordered the evacuations to be on the safe side.'
Carlos Combs, who lives on a hillside above the valley in which Crafts Colly is located, said floodwaters from a creek swept several cars and at least two house trailers away.
'They're still trying to find two of the cars,' Combs said in a telephone interview.
He said Albert Adams, who lives in the valley below him, had 2 or 3 feet of water from the creek inside his home.
'I live up on the hill so we weren't affected, but it's been awfully rough down in the valley,' Combs said. He said water from the creek appeared to be receding by 10:30 a.m. EDT.
Efforts to assess the extent of the flooding and the status of the dam were were hampered by high waters which washed out roads and bridges in the area.
'We had reports that it (the dam) might give way, so there was plenty of time for residents to evacuate,' Burke said. 'There were people going door-to-door, warning about the possibility that it might break.'
At Neon, also in Letcher County, low-lying streets were flooded and one merchant said the water was 'up to the cash register.'
Heavy rains in southern and southeastern Kentucky Monday and Tuesday sent creeks out of their banks in many counties and forced families living in low-lying areas of Letcher and Lincoln counties to vacate their homes.
About 30 familes were evacuated from their homes Monday night in Lincoln County as more than 5 inches of rain fell on the area.
