Flooding kills one in Kentucky

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Flooding in central Kentucky swept a home into a creek Friday, killing at least one person, as a heavy storm felled trees and downed power lines. Helicopters and search dogs were helping search for other possible victims, authorities said.

"I saw it wash away with a woman and probably a 3-year-old baby," said area resident Roger Smith.

A woman was at a window, but the house washed away before rescuers could reach it, Smith said. He watched as the walls of single-story home collapsed and its roof fell in.

"The house was gone. It took seconds," Smith said.

Franklin County fire chief Gary Watts did not know how many people were inside the home when it was swept away north of Frankfort.

Storms swept through central Kentucky packing large hail and lightning, and were moving south Friday evening, the National Weather Service reported. Severe thunderstorm warnings were in effect Friday afternoon.

Downed trees blocked U.S. 60 between Frankfort and Versailles, and high waters stranded two school buses in Franklin County, officials said. No one was injured, and fire crews pulled the students off the buses and either drove them home or took them to a fire station, where they were picked up by their parents.

Police in Frankfort briefly closed several city streets due to heavy flooding, but reopened them by Friday evening.

Franklin County Judge-Executive Teresa Barton said a firefighter was struck by lightning and was in stable condition at an area hospital.

LG&E spokeswoman Debbie Shobe said that 11,000 customers were without power Friday evening, most of them in the Louisville metropolitan area.