Far western Kentucky received historic levels of rainfall Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, particularly in the Graves County area, which saw almost a foot of rain fall.
A plethora of roads were closed due to high flood waters in Ballard, Calloway, Fulton, Carlisle, Hickman, Marshall, McCracken and Graves County, where the worst of the heavy rain and storms trained for hours. Mayfield picked up around 11 inches of rain, beating the state record for rainfall for a 24-hour total, in many of the same areas that were hit by deadly and devastating tornadoes in December of 2021.
Governor Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency Wednesday afternoon, saying it will allow for areas impacted by flooding to quickly get the resources they need to start recovery and repair.
Multiple water rescues took place Wednesday morning, but there were no reports of injuries and no one has been reported missing. Kentucky Secretary of State Jim Gray issued an official order to temporarily suspend certain regulatory restrictions on commercial motor vehicles involved in restoring power and clearing debris in Western Kentucky
Congressman James Comer said in a statement that his office was in contact with local officials and standing ready to assist.
Please pray for Mayfield and areas of Western Kentucky impacted by significant flooding from last night's storms. We're working to assess the damage and respond. Just like every challenge we've faced, we will be there for all those affected. We will get through this together. ^AB
— Governor Andy Beshear (@GovAndyBeshear) July 19, 2023