LEXINGTON, Ky. — As of noon Saturday, 25 deaths have been confirmed across the eastern Kentucky counties impacted by Thursday’s flash flooding.
What is known about the confirmed deaths
Of the victims, 14 were from Knott County, four were from Breathitt County, three were from Perry County, two were from Letcher County and two were from Clay County. Four of the victims are children, Gov. Andy Beshear said.
Victims from Knott County
Beshear said the victims from Knott County included four children, a 63-year-old man and a 65-year-old woman.
The four children have been identified as Maddison Noble, 8, Riley Noble Jr., 6, Nevaeh Noble, 4, and Chance Noble, 1 1/2, a relative told the Herald-Leader. The victims were swept away from their parents in the flood on Thursday. The mother and father, Amber Smith and Riley Noble, were found alive.
Victims from Perry County
Nellie Mae “Nell” Howard, 82, was at her daughter’s house near a small creek in the Chavies community when the flood came Thursday, said Perry County Sheriff Joe Engle, who is Howard’s great-nephew.
He said the water “was so quick and furious she couldn’t escape.”
Howard loved to cook and grew beautiful roses, her granddaughter said.
Perry County Deputy Coroner Jeff Combs said she went missing around midnight or 1 a.m. Thursday and was discovered around 8 or 9 a.m.; the death was reported around 10:48 a.m. that day.
According to Combs, she had left her house and died while trying to reach higher ground.
The Perry County coroner’s office said in Facebook posts that the other victims were both men. Their names have not been released.
The coroner’s office said one was an elderly man who was found inside his home in the Rowdy community. His body was found early Friday.
A middle-aged man was found Friday along a creekside with some debris when the coroner’s offfice was dispatched to Williams Circle between the Dwarf and Fisty communities.
Victims from Letcher County
Beshear said the deaths in Letcher County included a 79-year-old man and a 65-year-old woman.
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(Herald-Leader reporter Karla Ward contributed to this report.)
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