A convoy of National Guard vehicles and heavy equipment including excavators and dump trucks, are heading into the hardest hit area of flood-plagued eastern Kentucky on Wednesday morning as crews prepare to resume searching for the missing.
Two people were killed and six disappeared in a raging flood that hit the area Monday afternoon.
Rescue crews combing the hilly Appalachian terrain Tuesday were hampered by more heavy rains, swarming mosquitoes, soupy humidity and knee-deep mud.
Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear declared a state of emergency to give local officials immediate access to state resources to assist in recovery efforts.
Authorities say the search area stretches more than 8 miles, from the town of Flat Gap south to Staffordsville -- a rural area with 500 homes and 1,200 residents.