‘We’ll be back’: Neon, KY mayor addresses disastrous flood | WJHL

FLEMING-NEON, Ky. (WJHL) – More than a week later, people in Letcher County are still cleaning up debris and damage from the deadly flood, especially in Fleming-Neon.

“Our little town at some points had 12 to 15 feet of water,” Mayor of Neon, Susan Polis said. “All of our businesses and churches and homes above us and homes below us took water.”

The flood cleanup continues for the small town with a population of about 1200.

“This is going to take awhile,” Polis said. “We’ve had floods, don’t get me wrong, but this one… it’ll take us a while.”

Polis expressed enormous gratitude for the people that have showed up to donate and volunteer their time over the past week.

Bill Hess and his group, ToolBank Disaster Services, were among those people. Hess brought tools for people who lost hammers, screwdrivers and other necessities during the flood.

“Personally I was a victim of Hurricane Michael,” Hess said. “I know what it’s like to lose stuff. I know what it’s like to be impacted by that and have your town ravaged by a natural disaster, so being able to come down here and help people, it’s important.”

The people of Neon don’t know what’s next or how they’re going to get there, but they say they do know one thing.

“We’ll be back,” Polis said. “Every day that I get up, it looks better and it is better than the day before and that’s all we can work for.”