Mud, rain, debris, hamper search for Kentucky flood victims

Source: AP

By BRUCE SCHREINER and DAVID STEPHENSON

FLAT GAP, Ky. (AP) — As the Johnson family dug through the wreckage where their trailers once stood, they found a mud-soaked box of family photos, cherished heirlooms and a tiny porcelain statue of Jesus, but not what they were looking for.

Scott Johnson, 34, was swept away two days ago, trying to save his grandmother as a flash flood Monday ravaged this rural eastern Kentucky community.

He is still missing. Three others are confirmed dead, and the fate of four more remains uncertain. Families reported them missing, but they could be stranded in their homes, without power or phone service.

Rescue teams are slogging through knee-deep mud, door-to-door, across the rugged Appalachian terrain, painting orange "X''s on each structure they search. Desperate families roam the banks of the swollen creek, looking for their lost loved ones.

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Residents of a mobile home park look for belongings after deadly flooding in Flat Gap, Ky., Tuesday, July 14, 2015. Flash floods in northern Johnson County outside of Paintsville destroyed homes and vehicles and residents were reported missing a day after the floods. (AP Photo/David Stephenson)

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