Paul Griffey, of Olive Hill, and his family were asleep as a storm blew by. He made it to the living room to make sure things were OK.
"Then I opened the door and it was like a river. It was up so high," said Griffey.
At that point Paul tied a rope to his porch and threw the line to his neighbor to get his family to higher ground.
"He held onto it as we walked through water and we made it," said Griffey.
Floodwaters swept away his neighbor's trailer and their two vehicles, sending it 500 feet downstream. Two women and four dogs were inside. Firefighters carefully made their way to the trailer, but getting there wasn't easy.
"Where the trailer was at was in high weeds, so we were getting our feet tangled up trying to walk over to the trailer. If we would have lost our footing we would have been swept away," said Lieutenant Chad Manning of the Olive Hill Fire Department.
"I don't see how they survived it. They did and I'm glad. I thank the Lord for it," said Griffey.
"We'll go in and assess how much water damage is in the house to determine if we do individual assistance or what we are going to be able to do," said Vicki James, Executive Director of the American Red Cross of Northeast Kentucky.
Griffey and his family have never been through this kind of flash flooding. He said there is extensive damage inside his trailer but the family was able to salvage some things.
"It's unbelievable how water can come up so quick," said Griffey.
The family that lived in the trailer that was swept away is now staying with relatives. Griffey said his family will also staying with relatives until they can find another place to live, but he said it will not be near a creek.
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