Five or more inches of rain in a few hours overnight Saturday into early Sunday took a massive toll on area property, officials said Sunday.
No injuries were reported in Mason County, although a Bracken County man was reported missing after his mobile home was swept away.
In Maysville, a couple escaped their home after they discovered their house had been moved off its foundation by flood water from Lawrence Creek.
According to reports, Tim and Sheila Wheeler were roused from sleep around 2 a.m., Sunday when their home began moving.
"I guess the foundation cracking woke me up," Sheila Wheeler said. "We left the house and swam up to our neighbor's house."
The Wheelers just purchased their home two years ago and they had just finished remodeling it, according to reports.
City and county officials were out Sunday assessing the damage and making plans for repairs.
By late morning Sunday, Mason County Emergency Management Director Tim Nolder had been on the job for more than 12 hours, he said, trying to keep up with fast breaking events.
"For the most part, everybody is present and accounted for," Nolder said, although he said several rescues took place, including the couple whose home was washed off its foundation.
Several area roads were damaged when flooding pushed up asphalt and undermined shoulders, including an area on Kentucky 8, near Dover where shoulder damage caused guardrails to slip below road level.
"It chewed up a lot of blacktop," Nolder said.
The Lee's Creek Covered Bridge near Dover was damaged, Nolder said, and three vehicles from a car lot on Kentucky 9 washed down Lawrence Creek.
"There's a tremendous amount of damage out there," Nolder said. The good news is there were no reports of injuries from Maysville or Mason County, he said.
That damage includes Maysville's ionic Trip Trap Bridge, which was destroyed by the flooding.
Three cars parked at the county garage and set for auction were washed away ending up on the opposite side of the road, Mason County Judge-Executive Joe Pfeffer said. And in Maysville, 15-20 cars from Thomas Auto Sales on U.S. 62 washed off the lot and into the roadway, Maysville City Manager Matt Wallingford said.
Wallingford was out Sunday with other city officials inspecting roads and city property for damage, starting in the west end and working eastward.
The city's fire training facility on Martha Comer Drive suffered some damage when water levels rose to about 3 feet and entered the building, Wallingford said.
And at the Public Works Building, Dumpsters were tossed 100 yards by the flood water, he said. In addition to the house which was stopped from floating onto Kentucky 11 by a guardrail, Wallingford said an outbuilding did land in the roadway but was moved by someone with a loader.
At Lexington Street, Wallingford said officials were inspecting the bridge where vehicles were washed down stream. He said the bridge remains safe and secure.
In the city, Lower West Fourth Street and M Street are closed.
Wallingford said he does not anticipate any interruption in city services because of the flooding.
Pfeffer declared a state of emergency verbally in the wee hours of Sunday morning and was on his way to sign a more formal declaration Sunday afternoon.
Damage, he said, "is quite widespread." In many cases, floodwaters "simply took pavement and washed it away," he said.
County road crews were out early clearing roadways, sometimes scraping away gravel which was washed out of driveways and into the road. Some work, such as clearing fallen trees could not be completed until utility company crews moved live wires, Pfeffer said.
By early Sunday afternoon, Kentucky Utilities was still showing some spotty outages in May's Lick, Maysville, Mason County, Augusta, Brooksville and Flemingsburg.
"It's just going to take time," Pfeffer said.
Roadways currently closed by the county include Marshall Station closed to through traffic, South Ripley Road closed to through traffic and Strouds Run closed to through traffic on the Kentucky 9 end. West Parry Lane is restricted to no heavy trucks or equipment.
Mason County Red Cross Executive Director Rebecca Cartmell said her organization was answering calls for help and stands ready to help.
"We are doing the best we can," Cartmell, who had been out all night for the organization, said.
Donations can be directed to the Red Cross at 1679 Forest Avenue, Mayville, Ky. 41056. Those needing the organization's services should contact dispatch at 564-9411 in Mason County.
"We have been assessing damage and trying to meet the needs of people displaced," she said.
In Fleming County, there was significant damage to roadways and properties, including homes and vehicles.
Judge-Executive Larry Foxworthy said the damage was mostly in the Flemingsburg area and consisted of downed trees and wind damage.
"It seems to be mostly localized to the downtown Flemingsburg area, about a three- to four-mile area," he said. "There's a lot of wind damaged, downed trees. Thankfully, there were no reported injuries."
Flemingsburg Mayor Marty Voiers said there were reports of water inside homes and cars.
"There's water inside homes and vehicles," he said. "There's damage to the car dealership along Water Street. We had issues with Dumpsters floating and hitting cars. We haven't had any reported injuries and right now, we're assessing the damage and assisting with getting people out of their homes."
(The Ledger Independent is online at: http://www.maysville-online.com)