Lee County residents remain positive following recent flooding

LEE COUNTY, Ky. (FOX 56) — Residents of Lee County, Kentucky, are no strangers to the devastation caused by major flooding. 

Nearly four years after being hit hard in 2021, they grappled with the aftermath of another flood over the weekend. 

Despite the damage, residents remain hopeful and determined to rebuild.

Robbie McKinney, the agency manager at Kentucky Farm Bureau’s Lee County office, remains positive despite the circumstances.

“We know that what we’re going through is temporary, and we know that there’s a lot on the other end of the tunnel. We just have to go on through to get there,” McKinney said.

For many, the floodwaters reached 4 to 5 feet, making travel a challenge. Some, like the McKinney family, had to resort to kayaking just to get to work. 

With both the 2021 floods and now this one, McKinney said the community is always ready to step up.

“Immediately everybody was downtown working and getting cleaned out, and a lot of the merchants on the street have already gotten things cleaned out and started making headway,” McKinney added.

Mayor Scott Jackson reported that around 100 people and 43 businesses were impacted by the flooding. However, he said it was not as catastrophic as the 2021 flood, which had shocked the community. 

“I never thought in 21 years that my first term as mayor would be dealing with a flood that the older people said they’d never seen before. And when the water was coming up, I had the flashback, ‘Here we are again.’ And we were told it was a 100-year flood, and they didn’t quite make it four years but we had another flood,” Jackson said.

In the aftermath, McKinney emphasized the importance of reopening his business to serve the community. “We took up all the flooring; we had the vinyl floor down, and then we cut the drywall up above the water level. Now we have dehumidifiers and fans running,” he explained.

Both McKinney and Jackson praised the resilience of the community. Mayor Jackson expressed gratitude to the citizens for their continued support, saying, “I just like to be able to thank the citizens and the people that notice our effort of trying to get in contact with them. And I feel for them for their loss; I know some of them this makes our second go-round, but we’re here to help.”

McKinney echoed this sentiment: “There’s a light on at the end of the tunnel. Everybody knows the last time our community came back stronger, and it’s going to be okay. It’s going to be alright.”