Flash Flood — Pike, Kentucky

2010-07-17 to 2010-07-18 · near Meta, Pike, Kentucky

Event narrative

People were trapped on the roof of their home in Meta on Highway 119 along Coons Creek. Flooding problems began around 8 pm. Two people died during this flooding event. Both deaths were health related and not directly caused by flood waters.

Wider weather episode

An isolated severe thunderstorm blew down trees in Montgomery county during the predawn hours of July 17th. The more significant event, however, occurred during the later afternoon and evening hours in Pike county. Slow moving, training thunderstorms dumped between 3 and 7 inches of rain on portions of eastern Pike County in a very short period of time. The sudden inundation of the higher terrain around the Raccoon and Harless Creek drainage basins created a wall of water that swept away nearly everything in its path. The town of Raccoon was the hardest hit of the areas that received flooding. One woman was swept away and drowned by the flood waters. A man also fell to his death after leaning over the railing of a highway bridge and falling 240 feet into the raging creek below.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.5752, -82.4477)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 242713. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.