Mom Shares Tale of Survival After Escaping Deadly Kentucky Flood With Her 2 Children

Nicole Neace Kentucky Flooding

By Joel Brussels , Parent Herald Sep 03, 09:11 pm

Photo: (Photo : Michael Swensen/Getty Images)

One mom shared how her family narrowly escaped the devastating floods in Kentucky that destroyed their home and all of their belongings.

Nicole Neace lived in Clayhole, Kentucky, with her two kids, ages 16 and 10. The 32-year-old was sleeping on her living room couch on July 28 when she received a flash flood alert on her cell phone.

Neace told TODAY Parents that she also woke up to the sound of trees breaking, which was so loud. She added the sounds they heard that night were indescribable. She stuck a flashlight to the window, turned it on and realized they were surrounded by water, and it was already halfway up the trailer wall.

Neace in shock as water entered her home

Water started gushing inside her home as Neace called for her 16-year-old son. Her son told her to calm down and that they needed to get out of there. Her daughter was awake as she heard her mom yelling at her brother.

A crying Neace kept apologizing to her kids, telling them that she should have been up watching the water and she should have been prepared. Neace's son helped her find her shoes as the family made their way to the back door for their escape.

Neace said that after opening the backdoor, she saw a poisonous copperhead snake swimming in the water, causing her to panic again. She said she couldn't see anything in the water because it was so muddy. She couldn't go out in that water, but she also couldn't leave her kids in that trailer.

Knowing that the water would go over her young girl's head, Neace said her son put his sister on his back as the family made their way to higher ground. She said that they were standing on a little island, it was 4:50 a.m., and they were just trying to figure out what they would do.

She then noticed what looked like a houseboat and quickly realized it was her neighbor's home. Neace said they kept yelling and trying to get a response, and they could not hear anything but rushing water, debris and trees breaking. They didn't know if the family had gotten out as they had no way to communicate.

Neace and kids finally rescued by helicopter

The only thing they could see of their neighbor's trailer was the roof. The current carried the trailer past their property before it collided with a transformer pole. The impact broke off a piece of the roof.

Neace told her kids they needed to hike to higher ground and try to get better reception. The worried mom was able to get through to a 911 dispatcher, who told her that authorities would send a boat to rescue their family as soon as possible.

They soon saw a helicopter rescuing people. They tried to get the rescuers' attention but failed. Neace told her kids they had to move again to higher ground after 45 minutes. They decided to walk half a mile to the home of their neighbor, where they were finally rescued.

Help is on the way for Kentucky as the state will receive up to 300 donated travel trailers from Louisiana, according to the Associated Press.