Then on July 28th, historic rains were dumped on portions of eastern Kentucky in what is being described as a “thousand-year flooding event” with at least 37 people confirmed dead, and dozens still missing or unaccounted for. Knott, Letcher, Perry, and Pike counties got the worst of it, affecting the communities of Hazard, Paintsville, Jackson, Prestonburg, Martin, Pikeville, Hindman, Whitesburg, Jenkins, and Neon.
For those that know their country music geography, this is right in the heartland of country music, and specifically along the “Country Music Highway”—the name affectionately given to US Highway 23 that runs through the region. The Country Music Highway Museum is located in Paintsville. This region birthed Tyler Childers, Chris Stapleton, Loretta Lynn, Keith Whitley, Dwight Yoakam, The Judds, Ricky Skaggs, Tom T. Hall, Patty Loveless, Gary Stewart, Billy Ray Cyrus, and so many others.
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