'This is a setback': Mayfield deals with significant flooding 18 months after deadly tornado
Historic rain fell near Mayfield in Graves County. According to the National Weather Service, more than 11 inches of rain fell in the area, which will likely set a new 24-hour rainfall record for the state of Kentucky.
Life-threatening floods slam Mayfield, Kentucky
Heavy rain triggered flash flooding in parts of western Kentucky early Wednesday in Mayfield. Mayor Kathy O'Nan joins FOX Weather by phone as recovery efforts continue in the city.
MAYFIELD, Ky. – A small western Kentucky town that was devastated by a massive tornado less than two years ago now faces a new challenge after homes were flooded during heavy rain Wednesday.
Historic rain fell near Mayfield in Graves County. According to the National Weather Service, more than 11 inches of rain fell in the area, which will likely set a new 24-hour rainfall record for the state of Kentucky. The result has been multiple Flash Flood Emergencies, washed-out roads and water creeping into homes in western parts of the state.
"This is a setback, of course," Mayor Kathy O'Nan said.
Floodwaters were still rising, with the flood threat expected to linger into the early afternoon.
Catastrophic flooding is underway in portions of Kentucky where more than 10 inches of rain has fallen in a relatively short time period.
(FOX Weather)
O'Nan said she doesn't think the life-threatening flooding will impact the city's efforts to rebuild after tornadoes ripped through five U.S. states back in December 2021, leaving more than 70 people dead in Kentucky. Mayfield was ground zero for the storms, as a powerful EF-4 tornado with 190-mph winds left behind block after block of devastation.
Debris is wrapped around danaged trees as emergency workers search through what is left of the Mayfield Consumer Products Candle Factory after it was destroyed by a tornado in Mayfield, Kentucky, on December 11, 2021.
(JOHN AMIS/AFP / Getty Images)
"I think it's discouraging, probably for a lot of us, because we just don't need anything right now," she said. "We are moving forward, which is so wonderful, but as with everything, we will plow right through this, too."
Johnnie Road located in Mayfield, in western Graves County, Kentucky, is closed due to a wash out Wednesday, July 19, 2023.
(Graves County Sheriff's Office)
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said his office was sending out prayers to western Kentucky on Wednesday and was going to work to assess some of the damage.
"As in the past with the governor and anybody in the state government, they are certainly attuned to our needs here, and I certainly expect them to answer any call we might make to them for help," O'Nan said.
DRONE VIDEO CAPTURES CATASTROPHIC WESTERN KENTUCKY FLOODING ENGULFING HOMES
Drone video: Neighborhoods underwater following life-threatening flooding in Mayfield, Kentucky
At first light, storm chaser Brandon Clement got a view entire neighborhoods underwater where a Flash Flood Emergency was issued in Mayfield, Kentucky, with more rain on the way Wednesday.
The mayor said she knows exactly what she will see when the rain stops, and the flooding recedes.
"I will see neighbor helping neighbor in those people that have had some damage to their homes," she said.
City officials had to temporarily close the north entrance to town just before dawn as heavy rain overwhelmed infrastructure at times.
Swift water rescue teams were also activated to assist residents in Mayfield who had water approaching their houses and vehicles. O'Nan said first responders went from home to home in the flooded areas and spoke with the people living there.
"They were either self-evacuating or wanted to stay with their property, which is certainly understandable," she said.
A shelter was also opened in the town, but nobody arrived to use the services available, O'Nan added.
"I think that is also hopefully a good sign," she continued.