MAYFIELD, Ky. (WTVF) — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has declared a state of emergency after extensive flooding in western Kentucky, including the weather-weary community of Mayfield, Kentucky.
Overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, it didn't just rain, it poured.
"We’ve never seen that much flood in our lives so my parents were like — what is going on?" said 11-year-old Angelica Gonzalez.
At sunrise, Gonzalez's parents decided they didn't have a choice.
"My dad said why don’t we get out of the house so we got out of the house as fast as we could," said Gonzalez.
As the only English speaker in the house, Angelica called 911. Dispatchers encouraged them to wade through the water to get to their car in hopes of finding higher ground.
"It was like this high," Gonzalez said, pointing to the top of the wheel of their car. "I was screaming a lot. My parents had to calm me down."
That's a traumatic moment for any 11-year-old, but especially an 11-year-old from Mayfield, Kentucky.
"There are no more buildings because they’re all damaged," she said.
On December 10, 2021 — a powerful E4 tornado tore through downtown Mayfield in the middle of the night, killing 24 people. It’s easy to see why the pain is still so fresh from the tornado, even a year and a half later, given large stretches of downtown Mayfield remain leveled.
"When the tornado happened, it was probably, I’d have to say 500 feet from our house. It was like really close and the tree fell on the house and I screamed a lot," said Gonzalez.
Between the tornado and now the flood, we were still able to find signs of hope, like some houses remaining dry.
"The water didn’t go in the house. It was probably five inches from the front door," she said.
Gonzalez also told us about how she helped her neighbor find their missing kid's bike.
"I asked them, what was going on. They said they were going to get the children’s bike," she said. "So, we helped them a lot ,and they said thank you and we were like — you’re welcome."
As with any storm, you can always find little rays of sunshine in between bouts of pouring rain.
"Yea, it’s a lot going on. Mayfield has never had a break," said Gonzalez.
