Chloe Adams, 17, awoke early on Thursday morning from a nightmare. The kitchen tiles were bubbling up, and rushing water was pouring out of the bathroom drains and swiftly engulfing the house.
Chloe, who has had her dog Sandy since she was a young child and lives with her grandfather in Whitesburg, Kentucky, was by alone.
She texted CNN, "There was water as far as I could see." "I experienced a severe panic attack."
Image of a much younger Chloe and Sandy, the dog she saved. According to Terry Adams, Chloe's father, "This is them many moons ago."
Governor Andy Beshear reported on Friday that at least 16 individuals lost their lives in the widespread flooding and torrential rains that hit eastern Kentucky on Thursday, along with hundreds of others who lost everything.
The raging waters were separating Chloe's grandparents from their granddaughter, who was in a house just a few feet away. They shouted at her, telling her to stay inside until assistance arrived. However, Chloe claimed she recognized she had to leave if she wanted to survive due to poor mobile coverage and a 911 center that was apparently overburdened and unresponsive to her calls.
She was, nevertheless, determined to get out alive and bring her dog with her."My next thought was that we needed to swim out to my uncle's house," she recalled, adding that this is where the rest of her family was finding refuge. "I briefly submerged Sandy in the water to test her swimming ability. But she was unable to, so I picked her up and returned inside, wading through the waist-deep water in an effort to find something flotation-compatible to put her on."After experimenting with various pieces of furniture, Chloe decided to keep her dog dry by placing her inside a plastic drawer from her closet, which she then positioned on a sofa cushion to keep her buoyant.
Finally, she remarked, "I had a plan that I thought would work." I was aware of the risks involved in trying to swim in deep, swift-moving water, but I felt I had no other option.
She swam through the chilly water, pushing Sandy's cushion in front of her, till she came to the top of the last remaining portion of the adjoining storage facility.
The two stayed there for more than five hours before Chloe's cousin used a kayak to rescue the teenager and her dog. While Chloe waited for assistance, her relatives, who were nearby and taking refuge on the second story of her uncle's house, kept an eye on her and spoke to her.
The adolescent sobbed upon reaching her grandmother's house because she was "relieved to know Sandy and I survived the water," she added.
Chloe continued, "My heart goes out to all the other people who perished and through so much more suffering than I did in this heinous destruction.
After the rescue, Terry Adams, the teen's father, referred to his daughter as a "hero" in a Facebook post.
He wrote, "We lost everything today." "Everything but what really matters."
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