The article discusses the increasing frequency of catastrophic floods in Appalachian Kentucky and Tennessee, emphasizing the struggles faced by residents who live in high-risk areas. Following significant rainfall events in February 2025, communities saw extensive damage, highlighting their fragility amid climate change. Despite exhibiting resilience through collective recovery efforts, many are trapped in cycles of destruction due to geographic limitations in finding safer housing. The phenomenon of 'thousand-year floods' occurring within years rather than centuries raises alarming questions regarding preparedness and infrastructure resilience in these vulnerable regions.
As short-term cleanup leads to long-term recovery efforts, residents can face daunting barriers that leave many facing the same flood risks over and over again.
Floods wiped out businesses and homes in eastern Kentucky in February 2021, July 2022, and now February 2025, revealing the vulnerable infrastructure and repeated challenges faced by communities.
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