Letcher County officials say a local dam is in danger of breaking, which could flood several homes below it. People in the Crafts Colly community were asked to leave their homes until officials can control the flow of water.

Water officials estimate there are at least six million gallons of water behind the dam in Crafts Colley, and some say if it breaks before the water goes down, everyone downstream could be in trouble.

The dam is already partially washed away after the recent heavy rain in Letcher County. Judge Executive Jim Ward says, "The culvert in it has rusted away and the dam is about to breech, it's about to wash out."

Crews are pumping water from the top of the silt pond to other ponds and streams to prevent a possible catastrophe. Ward says, "We're trying to get it in a controlled manner so that if we have any more storms like we had at Neon, if that happened here at Crafts Colly, this dam would probably break."

The Pine Mountain Search and Rescue Squad went door to do asking people to voluntarily evacuate until the water is under control.

Monica Caudill says, "Mom's like 'Well I'm not leaving my home.' So we came up here and moved the motor bikes and most of our vehicles and stuff."

But not everyone is worried.

William Morton says, "I'm not too concerned about it. It might make the creek a little muddy and make the creek rise, but I don't think it will cause any problems."

Emergency officials say most families are choosing to stay in their homes.

Caudill says, "You want to protect what you can and if you're here trying to work, you feel like you've done something at least, to save your home."

Some officials believe the area was not properly reclaimed years ago, which could be adding to the problem. The Ermine Senior Center is open for anyone needing a place to stay.