Valentine’s Day weekend 2025 started as any other rainy weekend in central Appalachia, but would soon turn into one of the four devastating floods that Appalachian areas have seen in the last 5 years. Many would lose everything they had rebuilt since the last and more.
The weather had just started warming up after the previous snowfall, which was now melting. Looking at the weather channel for the weekend, you would see a forecast of rain, lots of rain, but nothing more than that. No one would have guessed that a historical flood would hit many parts of the region. An average of approximately 7 inches of rain fell onto the already water-saturated ground.
Figure , Flooding of Pike County Ky, US 23 When the water started to rise, it was unforgiving and fast. Over a few days, the water rose past anything most had ever seen. Hundreds of people lost their homes, and multiple businesses were lost within the matter of hours. The region of Appalachia took a major hit. For example, I remember getting a call from my mother saying that US 23 was underwater by our local Walmart. I’ve never seen or heard of the Big Sandy River getting up that large.
While this was extremely devastating, the communities came together in a time of great loss. Neighbors were rescuing people who had no way out of their houses, churches were providing food, and schools opened their doors for emergency housing for those who had nowhere else to go. The community came together when we had no other support.
The weather in Eastern Appalachia has been worsening over the last few years. The region cannot take much more, as each time we begin to rebuild, it seems we take another hit with little to no assistance from anyone outside the region. While Appalachian people are known to be tough and hardworking, this may be getting to be too much for the community alone.
The area has been damaged time and time again. Restoration will take years of effort from the community, but what happens when another disaster happens? The same cycle that has happened continues and only puts the region into more poverty, which has always been an issue. This is also discussed in https://dailyyonder.com/mud-and-mutual-aid-the-early-days-of-recovery-from-eastern-kentucky-floods/2022/08/01/ if you are interested in learning more about these issues.