A Kentucky couple lost four children after their family was swept away in a flash flood: 'I know they hung on to each other till the very end'

Homes along Gross Loop off of KY-15 are flooded with water from the North Fork of the Kentucky River.

Arden S. Barnes/For The Washington Post via Getty Images

• Flash floods in Eastern Kentucky have killed at least 25 people, including 6 children.
• A couple lost all four of their young kids— ages 2 to 8 —when their trailer parker was swept away. 
• The bodies of Maddison Noble, Riley Jr., Nevaeh Noble, and Chance Noble were found on Friday.

All four children of a Kentucky couple died during a flash flood earlier this week, The Washington Post reported. 

Amber Smith and her husband, Riley Noble, got their kids dressed and climbed to the roof of their trailer when it flooded on Thursday at around 2:00 a.m.

The bodies of their children — Maddison Noble, 8; Riley Jr., 6; Nevaeh Noble, 4; and Chance Noble, 2 — were found on Friday, The Lexington Herald-Leader reported. 

Brittany Trejo, Smith's cousin told The Post that the family of six thought they'd be safe on the roof of the trailer but then it began to get swept away. The family floated to a nearby tree, Trejo said. 

"Amber said that all she could see around her was water and it was getting higher and higher even as they were getting on the tree," Ms. Trejo said, adding that they saw their trailer float away as they hung on to the tree. 

At least 25 people have been killed in the flash floods that hit Eastern Kentucky, and officials expect the death toll to rise. The death toll includes six children. 

"This is an ongoing natural disaster," Gov. Andy Beshear told Fox News on Saturday. "We are still in search and rescue mode. Thankfully, the rain has stopped. But it's going to rain more starting Sunday afternoon."

Trejo told The Herald-Leader that the couple managed to hold the kids for a few hours before they were washed away as the water got higher and higher. They remained on the tree for eight hours before help came. The Post reported that the couple tried to call 911, but the number was down. 

"The rage of the water took their children out of their hands," Trejo said.

Trejo said the family was loving and close-knit. 

"I know they hung on to each other till the very end," Steven Smith, a relative of the couple, told The Post. 

 

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