Representative Bill Wesley is speaking out about earlier contradictions of the severity in flooding expected in Estill County.
“This morning, I received an alarming call from the Commissioner of the Kentucky State Emergency Management. I was told that the agency was expecting a river crest near the 40-foot flood level. The commissioner expressed concerns that people were not taking the matter serious enough, as Ravenna could be one of the most devastated areas in the state,” Wesley said.
Wesley, Representative for Powell, Estill, and part of Madison Counties, says there were others present hearing the call. “Warn your people the river could reach 40 feet,” the agency urged.
Wesley says he started making calls, and put the information out on Facebook, and a storm of controversy soon ensued.
Wesley added, “I started receiving conflicting information shortly after. Later, the State Emergency Agency also rescinded what they had told me earlier.”
Wesley said, “I have seen the heartbreaking devastation of people in my district lose everything they have in recent years. The first time they described it as a 100-year flood. Then we had another 100 year flood a couple years later, and now here we are again. If I receive information from the State EMA that may impact the lives of people in my district, I will always act on it accordingly, especially when they stress, we aren’t taking the matter serious enough.”
“The predicted river crests are just that, predictions, it has bounced around from 32 to 38 feet this week,” Wesley added. “I put out what was conveyed to me at the time, and I’m not apologizing for that,” said Wesley.
At the time of this publication, the NWS says the Kentucky River in Ravenna is expected to crest sometime tomorrow morning around 35 feet, or lower.
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