Entire homes and parts of some communities were swept away by flood waters, leading to costly damage to infrastructure in the region.

This, combined with additional rainfall and flooding on July 28, led to a state of emergency being declared by Governor Jim Justice for six counties: Mingo, McDowell, Fayette, Greenbrier, Logan, and Wyoming.

[14] The Kentucky Court of Justice closed the judicial centers in Floyd, Letcher, Magoffin, and Perry counties due to the extreme flooding.

[16] Kentucky cities severely affected by the floods include Hazard, Jackson, Paintsville, Prestonsburg, Martin, Pikeville, Hindman, Whitesburg, Fleming-Neon, and Jenkins.

Evacuations were ordered in the downtown areas of cities that were severely flooded including Hazard, Fleming-Neon, Jenkins, Martin, Pound, and Clintwood, Virginia.

[17] The North Fork of the Kentucky River set record high crests in Whitesburg and Jackson,[14] and over 33,000 customers lost electricity.

[20] Upstream from Hindman, Alice Lloyd College in Pippa Passes sustained major damage due to Troublesome Creek, along with the surrounding community.

[22] In Letcher County, Whitesburg, and surrounding communities were severely impacted by the North Fork River and Rockhouse Creek.

[28][29] The Oneida community in Clay County was cut off by downed power lines and washed-out roads and bridges, with floodwater impacting many homes that had previously been flooded by an event in March 2020.

[30] Parts of Floyd and Johnson counties were impacted by severe thunderstorms and flooding first on July 26, affecting homes and roads.

[30] Pike County in far eastern Kentucky also sustained flooding, with multiple roads being blocked by downed trees and power lines as well.

[30] Late on July 28 and into July 29, part of the city of Jackson was evacuated and KY 15 was closed after officials became concerned that water from the North Fork River would top Panbowl Dam along KY 15 and potentially flood approximately 110 homes, 13 businesses, and other structures around Panbowl Lake, although the river began receding before the dam was overtopped.

[35][36][37][38] Meteorologist Jeff Berardelli of WFLA in Tampa, Florida commented that the flooding in Kentucky was "simply in its own universe", and that an event that would happen on average one in a thousand years before global warming made its likelihood greater.

"[50] On July 29, President Joe Biden declared that a major disaster existed in Kentucky and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides.

[53] Some residents in Kentucky were stuck in their homes, unable to leave because of washed-out roads and bridges, leading to over 420 people being rescued by helicopter or boat.

Numerous people remained stranded in rural areas as a result of roads being washed away, with the only access in some instances being by ATV.