- 4/7/2025
Gov. Andy Beshear (D-KY) held a press briefing on Monday in response to statewide flooding.
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NewsTranscript
00:00All right. Good morning, everyone. Four days of severe storms have brought
00:04devastation to so many communities across our commonwealth. We've had
00:10search and rescue teams working around the clock to support these communities,
00:14and I want to thank them for their incredible work. What we have seen is
00:17rescue after rescue after rescue that have turned what could be a very deadly
00:23event and the one where sadly we've lost two individuals. But again, it
00:28could have been so much worse. So to all the rescue teams from here in the
00:33commonwealth or from other states that have come to aid us. Thank you for
00:38helping our people. Thanks for answering the call once again.
00:42First, we do have more tough news that was shared on Saturday when we learned
00:48we lost a second Kentucky and a woman in Nelson County died due to flood
00:52waters that follows the tragic death of a child here in Frankfurt, also due to
00:58flood waters. And today we can report that we have a missing person in
01:03McCracken County, that there is an ongoing search for that we're very
01:07worried about. So we asked for everybody's prayers in that search.
01:11Remember, these are all Children of God missed by their families and their
01:15friends. Please join Brittany and I in praying for these families. And before
01:20I proceed to any other part of the update, I just want to stress that we
01:25do not want to lose another individual and whether or not we do is going to
01:30mainly depend on the decisions that people make here until the event is
01:34over. Remember, this event is not over until the waters have receded until the
01:40areas that have flooded are fully dry until we don't have saturated ground
01:44that could create mudslides over roads and bridges. And so I'm asking
01:50everybody just be careful. We're now just looking probably at a period of
01:54days, maybe the rest of this week. But remember, if those waters are
01:59receding, it is still dangerous to drive your car through them. In
02:02February storms when we lost 24 Kentucky ins, many of those could have
02:07been avoided. So to everybody out there, remember being there tomorrow,
02:12being there next week with your family is a lot more important than trying to
02:15get to where you're going. Do not drive through water. Do not move
02:20barricades. Because remember, if you do that, you're not just making a bad
02:23decision for yourself. You could cause the harm or even death to that next
02:28person that comes along. So we're pleading and you're gonna hear from
02:31everybody else who's up here. Don't drive through water. If you're told to
02:36evacuate, evacuate. We're not looking again at weeks here. We're just looking
02:40at at days and we want everybody to be safe.
02:45Remember, several rivers and creeks remain at or above the flood stage and
02:50roadways remain underwater in several areas. Remember, flooded waters can
02:55flood. Waters can hide sharp, dangerous hazards that can be contaminated with
03:00oil, gasoline or sewage. The cleanup could be just as dangerous as the
03:05flood. So remember, um, to to make sure that you are careful in cleaning up and
03:10make sure you have the right gear for that work. Latest weather. Although
03:14we've seen the last of the major storms, the National Weather Service has told
03:18us that tonight is gonna be problematic. This is gonna be a
03:21dangerous night where temperatures fall, where it gets potentially below
03:26freezing. So if you're somewhere that's very wet, if you're trying to ride this
03:29out in a home that's had water tonight could raise concerns of hypothermia. So
03:35again, find a safe place to go. We have plenty of shelters. You can call a
03:40family member or a friend. If it's gonna get down to the twenties, we need
03:43you to be dry and warm tonight so that you can work on digging out and mucking
03:48out tomorrow. Uh, one good update to share on. You'll hear it, especially
03:54from the mayor and the county judge, Frankfort and Franklin County, as it
03:58looks like the water level is not going to get as high here in Frankfort as
04:03previously thought. Right now, it looks like the levees are holding, and it
04:07looks like the water is receding faster than originally thought. Now. Now,
04:12remember, the cresting is gonna take longer as we go down river, but that's
04:18at least some good news. That doesn't mean that Frankfort and Franklin County
04:22are out of the woods. Um, in fact, we need to make sure we continue to
04:26conserve water, especially today to try to give the plant board time to get
04:31their pumps up and running so that hopefully we can. We can have safe,
04:36reliable water coming through Frankfort. So, um, you know, remember, if you got
04:42teenagers, try to try to limit it only to one shower or if your teenagers in
04:47the no shower phase, this is their time. Um, they will be the heroes. Um,
04:53but we really do need that conservation, especially through today, and either
04:58the mayor of the judge will talk about different points. You'll be able to
05:01come and get bottled water in Frankfort and Franklin County, and we'll be
05:05working with other communities that request and that need that updates. As
05:10of now, we've got 1788 connections without power across the commonwealth
05:16really haven't lost power in huge ways during this event. It's kind of how the
05:21event unfolded, but also our utilities are doing a really good job. Um, folks
05:28without water across the commonwealth. The information may be a little dated,
05:32but only 1131 without water at all. But remember, especially in Franklin County,
05:39about 100,000 people pulling off this water system. Whether or not that holds
05:43is going to depend on conservation today. 2847 under boiled water
05:49advisory. We got five parts of systems, not operational 15 under limited
05:54operations. Really, our water utilities have done a really good job throughout
05:59all this. They're working really hard to get everything up and running as
06:02fast as possible. Like we said earlier, two fatalities, though that's too too
06:08many. Um, but let's be really careful in the coming days. That also would
06:12have been much higher. But for swift water teams being utilized all across
06:16the state, you may remember the addition of use. Our teams has been
06:19brought to this E. O. C. It has helped significantly. I got to see it, um, in
06:24the in the flooding in February, and we've only gotten better since then.
06:28And our goal in this emergency operations centers to get better every
06:32single time, better in the emergency response, better in the temporary
06:36sheltering, better in the medium housing, better in the rebuilding,
06:41just better all around. Because if we can be there for our people in their
06:45time of need, and we can bring it every single time and do something a little
06:48bit more and a little bit more than will stabilize our families that much
06:52faster. As we look at sheltering, we got about 52 shelters that are currently
06:58open. We have 45 households sheltering in state parks, 10 in hotels, 79 in
07:05temporary housing units. United Way has come through big for us. Um, they
07:11have 27 households in non congregate sheltering that's got 18 individuals
07:17in 15 counties. They're bringing a new way to approach some of this with
07:22Airbnb and others, and that's a great addition. American Red Cross always
07:27here with us in the E. O. C. And grateful for their work. They got 15
07:31shelters right now with 139 individuals in 12 counties. There's a
07:36call center. If you need help, 502-607-6665. Kentucky National Guard.
07:43I just got a newest update. But from these numbers here, 354 soldiers and
07:48airmen are mobilized to conduct missions with our emergency management
07:52partners. They are around the state. They're doing everything from rescues
07:57with water rescues as well as the high axle vehicles where people are
08:01stranded. They can go in to get them. I think there's a new mission that was
08:04launched just about 10 or 15 minutes ago. Grateful for their service, and
08:10they are spread out throughout the state. One of the incredible parts of
08:13our guard is that we have guards, men and women all over Kentucky ready to
08:18answer the call in their communities. Remember, these are our neighbors that
08:22answer the call that take off the uniform of whatever their regular
08:26profession is. They put on that guard uniform and they come out and help and
08:31protect us. Remember, whether it's guard transportation crew or otherwise,
08:36when you're passing them, give them a wide berth. Those air Kentuckians.
08:40They're putting their lives in danger. Make sure that that you look out for
08:43their safety like they're looking out for ours. Kentucky State Police has
08:47been really busy. Our telecommunicators have answered 15,770 calls. Troopers
08:54continue to assist local law enforcement and first responders. If
08:59you need assistance about being evacuated, if you are in an emergency
09:04situation, please call 911. If it's not an emergency situation, you can call
09:09your local post or other numbers to ensure safety and security in the areas
09:14where Kentucky and have been evacuated. Troopers are providing extra night
09:18patrols, and I know between K. S. P. The guard and so many others. We've
09:22even gone house to house in some of the areas that looked like they were
09:26gonna be flooded. So these air again, Kentuckians and those that have come
09:30into help knocking on individual doors looking out for our families. Uh, K. S.
09:36P. Again confirmed that we have one report of a missing person in
09:39McCracken County who has last seen voting in flooded waters to report a
09:45loved one. Please contact the Kentucky State Police post in your area roads
09:51and bridges. We're gonna hear from Secretary Gray in a minute, but about
09:54538 state roadways are closed. More than half of those are in western
09:59Kentucky, which got more water than certainly I have ever seen it in
10:03western Kentucky. My dad's hometown in Dawson Springs got hit again somehow
10:08getting hit by our worst tornado flooding and just about every difficult
10:13weather pattern. Um, to the folks in Dawson Springs, we love you will be
10:17there for you. We will continue to rebuild. Nothing's gonna stop us from
10:21making sure that we preserve your hometown and an amazing town here in
10:26the Commonwealth. Uh, major routes remain blocked by flooding. A couple
10:31pieces of good news. The western Kentucky Parkway is no longer closed in
10:34Ohio County and I 65 mile marker 64. I think that's in LaRue County is now
10:41back open. But once again, if there are barricades, it means it's not safe. If
10:47there is water over the roadway, it means it is not safe. The number one
10:51thing that you can do to help us get through the rest of this natural
10:55disaster is to turn around and to not go through that water. You can check
11:00go ky dot ky dot gov to keep up with state highways. Um, as we look at our
11:06state parks, want to thank especially General Butler State Park. That's our
11:09main state park that is sheltering people right now. I think they
11:13sheltered people after some tornadoes about a year ago as well to all the
11:17staff that's there. Thank you for always being there for our people in
11:21their time of need. Um, today we also closed our state office buildings, both
11:28because of concern about people traveling in and out and also to
11:31conserve water here in Frankfort and Franklin County. We'll make a call on
11:36that. Um, this morning to again, we'll make the best decision that we can for
11:42not only this community, but the 11,000 plus Kentuckians that traveled
11:46to Frankfort to work every day. There are Kentucky families. They're a big
11:50part of Team Kentucky, and I want to make sure that they are safe. Um, so
11:55once again, thank you to everybody who is out there and to those that are
12:00looking for a way to help. The Team Kentucky Storm Relief Fund is open.
12:05That's now a fund that we're going to use for ongoing emergencies and
12:11natural disasters. It's been helping in the flooding we saw in the east in
12:14February. So if you're out there looking at at this county or others
12:19that have been hit harder than we've seen, um, I guess since I was one year
12:23old, um, since 1978, you can give to the Team Kentucky Storm Relief Fund.
12:30Every dollar goes to help families fully transparent, uh, subject to every
12:35open record. Um, this is the fund where we can maximize your donation to help
12:40people. And where we always start is paying for those funerals so that folks
12:44going through the worst of the worst know that we're with them will grieve
12:48with them, and they don't have to wait for any type of reimbursement during
12:51such a hard time. Uh, I'm gonna turn it over to the mayor who's gonna turn over
12:56to the county judge. We'll then turn it over to Director Gibson. Then we'll
13:00hear from Secretary Gray and we'll come back and take questions there. Thank
13:05you, Governor.
13:07And thank you, Governor. Thank you, Lieutenant Governor, Director Gibson,
13:11Director Slinker, everyone here at Kentucky Emergency Management. Your
13:15support over the last few days has been critical as we get through this latest
13:19weather event overnight here in the city of Frankfurt. The river did crest
13:24that just shy of the record set in 1978. And while not a record, this is
13:30still a dangerous flood, and we're continuing to monitor the situation. We
13:35didn't have any major incidents overnight. We evacuated or not a
13:40mandatory evacuation, but we strongly encouraged those who were going to be
13:44in the affected areas to consider evacuating if they could take advantage
13:49of another opportunity to get the higher ground to do so. We have three
13:53shelters that are open now. We've only had to house less than 50 families so
14:00far, including their pets. But we do have capacity for a couple of 100 more.
14:05So we encourage all those in the city of Frankfurt. If you need any type of
14:10non emergency help to call our hotline, it's 352-2252. We have people standing
14:18by to answer any questions to make sure you get to the right area, and we'll
14:23make sure that you're taken care of. Want to make sure that people don't get
14:27overconfident just because the water is receding some. It's still very
14:33dangerous, particularly around the edges. I want to make sure that now
14:37that the daylight's here again, we're gonna have a lot of people probably
14:40coming downtown to look at the river. Please don't get too close to the edge.
14:44Keep in mind that we do have road crews, utility crews, emergency
14:48responders still out and about. People may still be moving from their homes
14:53or trying to clean up. Keep that in mind and limit any travel downtown if
14:58possible. A lot of businesses are closed. Governments are closed. There
15:02should be really no reason to go downtown right now.
15:08We're looking at also last night we set a curfew. We made an executive
15:13decision to have a curfew from dusk till dawn. We're gonna do so again
15:18tonight in the interest of public safety, protecting private property and
15:23also just allowing our crews to operate efficiency efficiently. And I
15:28know that's gonna be an inconvenience for some of you in Frankfurt. I
15:31understand that and we do appreciate your patience, your understanding during
15:36this event. But we're gonna get through this in a matter of days. Just stay
15:42vigilant, stay cautious. We don't want to lose any more of our community
15:45members to this water and just ask that everybody continue to cooperate. Show
15:52some kindness, compassion to everyone else. We're gonna get through this one
15:57stronger than ever. Thank you. I'm gonna turn it over to Franklin County
16:00Judge Executive Michael Muller.
16:04Thank you, Mayor, Judge Executive of Franklin County, Michael Muller. First
16:08and foremost, I want to thank the governor, Lieutenant Governor,
16:10emergency management and everybody in this room. I wish the public could see
16:14what you all are doing. It's a huge, huge service that I don't think people
16:19understand. So in Franklin County, this is, um, this is the first one we've
16:23been through. You know, the governor always talks about Eastern Kentucky,
16:27Western Kentucky, the tornadoes, the floods. We've been sheltered from that.
16:31And so this is uncharted territories. You know, it's kind of one of those
16:34things. When you run for office, you don't think about national disasters.
16:38You know, it's like, what do you do? What do you do? But I'm appreciative
16:41to have a governor and team Kentucky that steps up and helps our local
16:45emergency management to figure out what to do. Um, so it's been very, very
16:50helpful. I do want to let everybody know. So everyone's in the stage now
16:53that, hey, sun's shining, you know, things are good. River's going down. We
16:57have no problems. This is when problems happen. Like the governor spoke of,
17:01this is when people driving around the barricades, they want to get the
17:04selfies, they want to get the pictures. That's when people get hurt. And so we
17:07can't emphasize enough to stay at home. You know, help your neighbors. Don't be
17:12out if you don't have to be out. Uh, you know, we're getting a lot of calls
17:16for people wanting to volunteer. People want to send donations. So I was just
17:20talking to emergency management director here. We will have our first
17:23site open at one o'clock today at Lakeview Park in Franklin County. We've
17:27been unloading semis of water, some food, things like that. So I'm very
17:31appreciative. National guards helping out. They helped out a lot yesterday,
17:35knocking on doors, making sure that people in the areas had to evacuate. So
17:40can't thank them enough. I know the donations. We've had a lot of people
17:44reach out from other states saying, How do we help your community? How do we
17:47help? So we'll be getting that information out on the state's
17:51information and our local information again. Can't stress enough. Don't drive
17:56around. Don't be out if you don't have to. We're not out of the woods yet. You
18:00know, people think just because requested were out of the woods, but
18:03they're still, you know, until we get about 29 ft in Franklin County, we're
18:07not gonna take a breath. So as the mayor and I were leaving today, they
18:11had probably 40 people and our emergency command center being briefed
18:15about what happens next. How do we get help to these people? How do we start
18:19rebuilding our community? You know, we probably have at least 50 homes, you
18:24know, that are potentially destroyed. So, you know, what happened was the
18:27river kept coming up. You know, we went to bed one night. They said it was a
18:3045 ft. You wake up the next day. Oh, no. And now it's 47. Now it's 49.5.
18:35And that's when it really got real. So people move their things to the second
18:39level. And then by the time they woke up at 5 30 in the morning, it was too
18:42late. So they had to get out. We had a lot of boat rescues. I think it was 15
18:46people that had to be rescued in Franklin County by boat. Um, so I just
18:50want to say, say, stay safe. I want to thank Team Kentucky again for all the
18:54support and you all keep doing the good work that you're doing. Thank you.
18:58Mhm.
19:02Well, good morning, everyone. And we join you again from the Emergency
19:05Operations Center. Seems a little bit way too often for these events to keep
19:08occurring. But here we are again in the same situation as we see the widespread
19:13damage from across the state. And you're hearing from the reports here
19:17from Frankfort, from our county judge executives and our mayors. And we're
19:21hearing those same reports that these gentlemen are sharing with you from
19:24across the state. This is a very widespread event. We know that it was
19:27going to be that way. And I want to say that the messaging that was sent out
19:31from the communications team here and throughout the media outlets that we
19:35shared with for many days before this event happened probably has been very
19:40impactful to save in many Kentuckians. People had a chance to be warned that
19:44it was a good idea to identify a place to go to get some things out of the way
19:49to make a plan. And all the things that we messaged five days in advance, I
19:53think, has led to a more successful operation this time. Less fatalities.
19:57There's plenty of destruction. There's plenty of homes inundated. There's been
20:00plenty of damage from this storm. However, you see that the fatalities
20:04are a little lower, and that's something to celebrate. The fact that
20:07people have listened to that and have taken that heed to those warnings. I
20:12think that the messaging and the team that provides that messaging through
20:14our communications team and working through all the media outlets has been
20:18successful. Now, it's very tragic. We've already lost two, and we have
20:22another person that we're looking for is the government reporting. So there
20:25are still tragedies in this, and I don't make light of those. They're
20:28very tragic. However, it is good that the messaging was effective. So we
20:32continue to do those things, and we provide these updates for that piece.
20:36We've hit crest at here at Frankfort, but there is still down water down
20:40range of that up the river. We're gonna deal with water still coming to rise
20:45over at Lockport, which is above Carrollton, and we're looking at that
20:48happening overnight tonight. So as we still have friends and Kentuckians
20:52downstream of this area here in Frankfort that still need to be paying
20:56attention. They have not hit crest yet. Yesterday there were talks of 57 in the
21:00models. It looks like it's a little lower than that this morning. I'm
21:03seeing like 53.8. Those river models change as the flow and the gauges give
21:08us new information. We're always trying to keep up with the most accurate
21:11information, and those are public facing websites. If anyone wants to see any of
21:14that, what I would tell you is we're very busy at the E. O. C. As you would
21:18expect us to be helping your local heroes. You have a communities full of
21:22people that are working very hard on your behalf, and our job here is to
21:25support them, and we report on that all the time. All of your local officials
21:30are in direct connection with my emergency manager, area managers and
21:34along with this E. O. C. So that's the way we want it to work, and we try to
21:37get better and better each time we go through one of these tragic events. And
21:41I think that while they'll never be good enough, we're always gonna try to
21:44be better. We're quicker at getting those water resources out to you when
21:48you need them. The commodities that you need to keep your to sustain your
21:51communities. Our sheltering operations began very early on with the Red Cross
21:56and the Commonwealth Sheltering program that we run how to hear out of
21:58emergency operations. But we've got our FEMA partners in very early. They're
22:03very helpful by getting those urban search and rescue teams in and around
22:06the state. We positioned them as widespread as we possibly could, putting
22:10teams where we thought those areas of concern would be, and we saw that to be
22:14very helpful. Uh, getting an emergency declaration that quick is
22:18unprecedented. We were able to do that two times in a row to use those
22:22federal urban search and rescue teams in the Commonwealth, along with partners
22:26from other states. And when you look at who comes to help, it's the same people
22:30that we go help, and it's neighbors helping neighbors and states helping
22:33states. And so many of our local teams have moved around the state. Lexington
22:37sent teams out. Louisville sent teams out Bowling Green. Everybody's been
22:40very helpful, and there's so many. I couldn't begin to mention them all. I
22:43heard Russell County was over in Gary County. So being in this role, I cannot
22:47even begin to think all the people across the Commonwealth that have come
22:51to the aid of other communities that are really suffering during this event.
22:54And I look through the notes that my staff right up and I just read over
22:57them, and it's almost more than you could even mention in a short press
23:00conferences. We try to share what's going on. But what I want you to know
23:03is the state has water and bottled water available for distribution to
23:08the counties that are without water. We have M. R. E. S. We have emergency food
23:12supplies, so we're not in a position where we can't help support that. The
23:16National Guard is quick to come to the rescue to provide that relief effort by
23:20those distribution centers in those local communities. So while this is a
23:24bad situation, and many people have had lots of damages, I've heard reports of
23:28counties with 100 homes here, 50 homes there, 200 homes over here, and that
23:33work has to be done to put that back together again. We see that work is
23:36there. We truly know that the work that you all have done as local leaders in
23:41your communities, as media representatives spreading this message,
23:44we're all on the same team. We're trying to save people's lives. We're
23:47trying to sustain that operation in those communities where people are not
23:50so impacted that they can't survive. And I think we've done a decent job of
23:54that. While there is still room for improvement, this team is exceptional,
23:58and I can't say enough about the 100 or so people that are surrounding us
24:01right now. We're partnered up
24:03with people from Red Cross. We have KU officials. We have FEMA officials. We
24:11have all kinds of people here from many agencies across state government that
24:15have all come together to one place to serve the Commonwealth of Kentucky and
24:19support the local officials where you need us to be at. And I can't say enough
24:22about that, and it's time to say thank you so very much. Thank you very much.
24:28Jim Gray, Transportation Secretary. I'm going to shrink wrap my comments
24:32because the governor needs to get to these questions quickly. But let me
24:36first give a shout out to our Transportation Cabinet employees who
24:41are still on duty. Of course, let me put this in a little bit of context.
24:45There are as of eight o'clock this morning, the governor mentioned it.
24:48There are 538 roads. State roads still underwater are closed. That compares
24:55to just a little over a month ago in February in that event where our peak
25:01was 350 roads closed. So at our peak in this event, more than 550. So more than
25:08200 more. That gives context for where we are. So we're still not out of the
25:12woods yet.
25:14The message
25:16turn around, don't drown. We've had reports of modest reports, just a few,
25:23but of some folks actually moving barricades. Don't do that. Don't do that
25:29at all. Those barricades are there for a reason
25:33for road closures.
25:35Go to. If you're trying to find out what roads are closed, go to go. K y
25:40dot k y dot g o v. You can find it there. Governor mentioned some good
25:46news in those 538 closures include though that our interstates Western
25:52Kentucky Parkway that was closed is reopened in Ohio and I 65 in LaRue
25:59County reopened. Now we do still have a number of our major roads that are
26:05closed. Let me make another point and then I'll turn it back over to the
26:08governor. Our licensing offices along with state offices today are closed.
26:14Our in person offices,
26:16they will be your appointments will be rescheduled. And so please take
26:21advantage of that. And please take advantage of going online for renewals.
26:25Governor
26:29and just to end that point, if you go online for renewals, if you'll go see
26:33an optometrist to get your eyes checked, then you can skip all those lines that
26:38we right now have at our DMVs. Um, I wanna I wanna finally give a big thank
26:43you, which I should have done to President Donald Trump as well as
26:47Secretary Nome for getting this disaster declaration through so
26:51quickly. Those that follow me know I've had a number of differences of opinion
26:56on policies with this president. But in response to our natural disasters, he
27:02has been there every time he's given us everything we need. His
27:06administration has been very responsive, and for that I'm grateful. If you're
27:10gonna criticize on some things, you've got to give credit where credit is due.
27:13Also want to thank FEMA for being here. The way that they have operated after
27:18the February floods in eastern Kentucky is some of the best that I've ever seen,
27:22both in the emergency response and in the individual assistance. And I say
27:26thank you to both President Trump, Secretary Nome and FEMA for that,
27:31because we're gonna be applying for individual assistance as well as public
27:34assistance here. We're gonna need those people to stay in the Commonwealth, and
27:39they're doing some of the best work that I've seen. And with 14 federally
27:43declared disasters since I became governor 5.5 years ago, we have a lot of
27:47context to base those comparisons on. Eso. Thank you to everybody from FEMA
27:52that I know you left your families to be here in the Commonwealth with us.
27:56And for many of you, this is the 3rd, 4th or 5th time. Feel free to pay
28:00taxes. Um, stay. Stay in our Commonwealth. But now we're really
28:05grateful that you all air here. With that, we have eight journalists on the
28:08line. We'll take one question from each so everybody can get back to doing
28:12this hard work. We'll start with Stan Ingold from W. E. K. U.
28:19Thank you. Uh, the mayor of Carrollton put out a Facebook live video on Sunday
28:24saying that he got word from state emergency management about 10 gates of
28:28the dig stand being accidentally opened, and he has since apologized and said
28:33there's miscommunication. But, you know, he was urging people all along the
28:36Kentucky River corridor to evacuate. Where did this information come from
28:40that he had received? And how do you prevent something like this from
28:43happening and causing people to panic?
28:46Yeah, we're working to get to the to the bottom of this one. Um, you know, I
28:51think K. U. S. Said they were operating under their plan, but we need to make
28:55sure that we're all operating under one plan that benefits every single
29:00community that can be impacted. So one of the things that we're gonna need to
29:04do through emergency management here to sit down and have a conversation with
29:08K. U. To make sure that there is direct communication about how many of those
29:12gates are being opened and about what the potential impact can be. Um, that's
29:17one area where we need to do better. And on the communication side, we need to
29:22do better. But let me tell you, the mayor of Carrollton was only operating
29:25under trying to help his people and others the best he could. This has
29:30happened to me at different times. You get information in an emergency and you
29:34try to push it out. It's not always accurate who you wish it was. But if
29:40you're always erring on the side of protecting people, which I think he most
29:44certainly was, that's that's the way we always want to air. But this is we
29:48always learn at least one area that we need to take that next step in that
29:52next step. And so with with that dam and those locks, especially ones that
29:57aren't directly under federal or state supervision, we're going to need a more
30:01direct relationship in the future. Tom Latek from Kentucky today.
30:12Thank you, Governor. And good morning. Um, there has been talk about
30:17refurbishing the upper locks on the Kentucky River, which may serve to
30:23mitigate any future flooding flooding in Frankfurt and downstream. Would you
30:27be interested in having the General Assembly provide funding to take care
30:34of the rest of the locks since only one through four work?
30:38Well, I'm certainly interested in learning more. I mean, we've since I've
30:42been governor, we've been hit 14 times by weather system so bad they became a
30:47federally declared disaster. And I wish I could tell people that we're going to
30:51get a break, but it doesn't look like we are. It looks like at least our near
30:55term future is we've got to build our infrastructure stronger and stronger and
31:00stronger. So when things like this happen, it doesn't threaten the city of
31:05Frankfurt or the other cities that have been hit. And so whether that's
31:08improved locks, whether that's looking at the floodwalls that we have, we just
31:14know we've got to do more. That's why in this General Assembly, I came with a
31:18plan on how we could have that intermediate housing up and running
31:21faster. It was pretty small. It was just about $5 million, and we could have
31:25had about 10 sites around the Commonwealth ready for us to bring the
31:28travel trailers immediately in because there are areas like Frankfurt that
31:32don't have a state park close. As we've looked at at the sheltering, the
31:37General Assembly decided not to do that. I certainly hope in the next session
31:41that they will see the need to always do a little better and to be better
31:46prepared. Because in every session, Tom, we ought to be looking at what's
31:50the next step, given that every time the national news says, Hey, there's a
31:55major weather system hitting the United States. It's always over Kentucky
31:59right now. Um, one other two other thank yous that I forgot. The National
32:04Weather Service is a critical service to the entire United States. They're
32:11the reason we were able to prepare for this. They were who gave us the
32:14modeling about what could have been could have happened here in Frankfurt.
32:18They're the reason that we were sandbagging the different areas that
32:21were done. I mean, they save countless numbers of lives, and I couldn't
32:26disagree with the cuts there more. I mean, we need all of these people. They
32:31save so many lives. And then to the meteorologists with every organization,
32:36with every news agency, with every station across the state, you do an
32:40incredible job. You're so important. Keep it up. I know you stay up through
32:45the night giving people information. But as I was sitting in the basement
32:48with my kids, what was it Wednesday night when all those tornadoes and
32:52storms were going through? You were who I was listening to. So keep up the
32:55good work. All right, Karen czar W. K. Y.
33:01Thank you, Governor. Governor, do we have a total count of the amount of
33:06swift water rescues that have been done since this event began? And what
33:10states are assisting with those? Thank you.
33:14Uh, for states, I'll turn it over to Director Gibson. It's a number, and I'm
33:18not sure we have the total yet because there are so many across the entire
33:23state. So that number is easier when it's just one region, which you never
33:27want just one region to hit. But we've got swift water rescues going on in
33:30Graves County and going on in Powell County all at the same time, which
33:35shows you what a statewide event this was. Director,
33:39glad to try to answer it the best we possibly can at this time. Of course,
33:42local agencies have been so hard at it, and they haven't stopped even send up
33:46their numbers at this point. Mostly what we can track this point or what
33:50those teams that we brought in have reported back to us. The numbers that I
33:55have for rescues just from those federal and state teams that we invited
33:59are requested to come help us. 140 rescues, 199 evacuations, 86 animals,
34:05and they've contacted 522 people across numerous counties. So that's just a
34:10brief number, but that won't touch what's been done by your local fire
34:14departments, your local rescue squads and those those individuals there that
34:18have been in your communities helping, and we'll hope to capture some of those
34:22numbers because they're very valuable to us to understand the real need
34:25across the entire Commonwealth. But it takes some time to get those numbers in,
34:29and I definitely don't want them to stop operations to do some reporting
34:31numbers to us. So as they get back to their stations and they start to do
34:35their after action reviews, we would love to hear how many rescues or
34:39evacuations they participated in. It's just a measure of how we can talk about
34:43how Kentucky can better prepare for that next event. So absolutely. Thank
34:47you for the states helping us and the other states that are helping us.
34:50Absolutely. Oh, I apologize. Yes, we had Vermont come in. We've had Georgia come
34:56in. We've had North Carolina come in. We have a Virginia task force in and
35:01we've had a, um, whom I forget and Maryland and Maryland's team come in.
35:07I apologize if I missed anyone. And then, of course, we move teams under
35:10the USAR task force. We move teams from Lexington and Louisville down in to
35:15help. And then we also know that the Taylor County team down from
35:19Campbellsville moved around their general area, hoping during the initial
35:23rain that come in on Wednesday night and they were very helpful there as
35:25well. So many, many teams.
35:28All right, Isaiah Kim Martinez.
35:33Hi, Governor. Can you say in Frankfort how many people have been evacuated as
35:37a result of this? And when can they return home?
35:42Let me turn it over to our Franklin County and Frankfort officials.
35:48I don't know if we have an exact number currently. You know, I think I've heard
35:53that 100 number throw around. We are working on that right now. There's a lot
35:57of areas where people were advised to evacuate just to be precautious, and
36:02they they're wanting to get back A. S. A. P. So, like the mayor stated
36:06earlier, you know, we have done an inspection of levy wall. We're gonna
36:09just kind of ease back into it and start identifying in the next couple
36:13hours what areas are safe to go back in. But for the vast majority of
36:18everybody, you know, that was very affected by the flooding, especially
36:23along the river and in certain neighborhoods. You know, it could be
36:25Thursday. So we're just we're still being very cautious, so we don't have
36:29any fatalities or anyone else get hurt. Thank you.
36:35Following up on that, the capital city being a river city, a lot of the people
36:39that live in these affected areas, they understand the impact that the water
36:44level rise will have on their homes or their business. So many people's
36:48self evacuated without the city's encouragement. So we don't have a
36:54number on that. So but we did right now. We're currently sheltering fewer than
36:5850 people. We have capacity for more. And as far as going back into their
37:03homes there, I'm sure there are people out there who who look at their streets
37:08and maybe they don't see water. Their homes are not underwater right now.
37:12They want to get back. But just know that we are testing the water the
37:17flood wall to make sure that there are no impacts there that we need to be
37:21concerned about. And once we fully understand that, we'll make it clear to
37:26everyone and we'll get it out there on social media. We'll do some videos.
37:30We'll make sure you know when it's safe to get back into your homes.
37:36All I'd add is that while as governor and lieutenant governor, we're there
37:41for every community that's been hit. Lieutenant Governor and I live here. We
37:45both live in Frankfurt. We're both conserving water like we're asking
37:49everybody else to do right now. This is very personal to us and we're gonna
37:53make sure that everybody in this city as well as others that have been
37:57impacted can get back up on their feet and that we can move forward. Uh,
38:02Asher Red.
38:05Okay. Uh, Carolina.
38:07Mhm.
38:11Hi, Governor. Um, you said that the levees in Frankfurt holding. Um, I want
38:16to ask you in general about Kentucky's flooding infrastructure. Was there
38:21concern about levees, dams and stuff like that across the state failing
38:25during this emergency? Did did we come close? Were there tense moments?
38:31There were certainly some tense moments all across the Commonwealth. When
38:35people think about dams that stop water, you think about the big ones.
38:40What you don't think about are some of the roads with the earth and dams, um,
38:44that that keep water from from flowing that keep, uh, rivers and streams from
38:50from overflowing. Whether, uh, the one that we've talked about a lot over the
38:53years, pan bowl, um, in in Breathitt County and what happens if that fails
38:58and the work that we're doing it. So there were different, uh, infrastructure
39:03like that across the Commonwealth that we were getting different reports in.
39:08But for the most part, everything is held. That doesn't mean we go back. We
39:12don't go back now and look at every single one of them, knowing that while
39:17this was the most water since 1978 that Franklin County has gotten, we're
39:21having something like that every couple months in the Commonwealth. So we've
39:25just got to prepare for worst case scenarios, knowing that they're coming
39:30and needing the infrastructure to be strong enough to withstand it.
39:34Uh, Gil McClanahan, a final question.
39:44Okay, we'll catch up with you at a wait. I can hear you. Yes. All right. All
39:50right. Um, you, uh, you had said earlier that there were 538 roadways
39:57closes that were either under water, um, or or they were closed. Uh, would
40:03you take me through the process of, um, of, um, how do you How do these How do
40:09you get the money to the counties to fix these areas? And about how long
40:15does that usually take?
40:17Yes. So that 500 plus number of close roads are just state roads. So then
40:23think about county and city roads across the Commonwealth and how much
40:27those add up. So there is a huge amount of work to be done. How long it takes
40:32to get them open depends on what the issue is. If it is a rock or a mudslide
40:37caused by the saturation, it's getting the heavy equipment out there, getting
40:42it cleared off, but then making sure it's stable because you don't want cars
40:46traveling. If we think that that's going to happen imminently again, if
40:50it's water, we've got to wait. We've got to wait for it to go down, and you
40:54just got to give it that time. And that's why those barriers are so
40:58important. So we'll continue to give updates. But but anybody who lives in an
41:02area that got some of this flooding really should check that website before
41:06you travel to know the direction you need to go to. And remember, if you
41:10approach that water, even if you're stressed about that thing you need to be
41:14at, turn around, call whoever it is you were supposed to see reschedule. Let
41:19them know you got to go a different direction and it's gonna take longer.
41:22But you know, we've lost two people, including a child, and we just don't
41:26want to lose anybody else. And it's that decision to not drive through that
41:31water that helps make sure we all get through this and get through it
41:34together. Thank you to everybody for watching. We'll continue to provide
41:38updates throughout the day on social media and other means. Thanks to all
41:42the leaders behind me. But thanks to everybody in this E. O. C. And in every
41:46single county that's working to protect our people. Thanks.