Knott County emergency officials brace for snow in wake of recent flooding

KNOTT COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) - Flooding clean-up and repair efforts are underway in Knott County, but county officials say they’re now bracing for snow.

The aftermath of the weekend’s flooding can be seen across the county.

Now that the water has gone down in many parts of the area, there’s another hurdle standing in the county’s way, and that’s winter weather.

Emergency Management Director James Sandlin says property and infrastructure damage are the biggest issues the county has currently.

He says there are 41 county and state roads that are impassible, and while crews are reopening seven to eight roads each day, snow will likely halt road cleanup.

Sandlin adds impassible roads, on top of continued power and water outages, are raising concerns for county officials.

“We can handle losing power, but it’s the cold weather that’s coming in,” Sandlin said. “So, if you lose power tonight or Wednesday morning and you go 24 or 36 hours without any heat source, that is gonna make your house even colder. Anything you can think of you may need for a couple days, probably a good time to go get it.”

Those concerns are also being felt by staff at the home health agency Comfort Hills, which has already had issues reaching clients.

The company cares for folks throughout the area with disabilities, ensuring they have everything they need in their day-to-day lives.

“We’re trying to get all their stuff together and make sure they have all their medications and groceries in, and that we have workers that can stay here until the mess is over, until the snow goes away because you have to have somebody with them at all times,” said Shellie Ratliff, residential manager at Comfort Hills.

Sandlin says that depending on what time the winter weather hits the area, they may be opening the Knott County Sportsplex as a warming shelter for people who need it.

He says if folks need assistance and are unable to leave the area where they live, they can message Knott County Emergency Management’s Facebook page.