Kentucky counties concerned as heavy rains bring increased hazards

Torrential rain caused some big problems for those across the commonwealth in the early parts of the week, and more wet weather is only expected to exacerbate the problems.

A mudslide trapped some Whitley County residents in their homes this weekend off of KY-92 east of Williamsburg. For the better part of the last few days, big trucks hauling mud and debris have been a common sight on Bunch’s Creek road.

Whitley County Emergency Management officials say they’ve carted away almost 60 truckloads of mud, and it’s still coming down.

“We have actually cleaned the road three times so they can get back in. We are talking three or four times to get it open,” said Danny Moses with Whitley County Emergency Management.

Tuesday’s rainfall seems to have only made this situation worse for the crews working to remedy the mudslide.

"It is making it come down in the road a lot quicker. It is getting it all wet, sliding a lot. It has a lot of weight on top of it with the trees,” said Moses.

No one was injured as result of the mudslide.

A few counties over in central Kentucky, rain is also proving to be a problem in the small river community of Ravenna in Estill County.

Heavy rains are prompting officials to warn people about potential flooding conditions along the Kentucky River. Emergency Management officials say it’s possible the roads may become so flooded that they’ll impact traffic, but people in the community have learned to expect this throughout the year.

“Most people have those routes when they know they have to go somewhere they're planning ahead, they know that the river is possibly up and they probably have to take another route,” said Ronnie Riddell of Estill County Emergency Management.

But even as the rain is expected to move out of Estill County, the Kentucky River isn’t expected to reach minor flood stage until Wednesday morning.

"Just because the rain is over doesn't mean the hazard is necessarily is,” said Riddell. “It takes time for the creeks and water ways to filter into the river and then for it to filter out of Estill County. Plus we have water coming to us from other counties off to the east of us."

According to the river forecast near Ravenna, water levels won't drop back below the minor flood stage until Thursday.