Social networks often make it hard to leave Appalachia

Paul Francis of Garrett, Ky., says he's leaving because floods are too much. Others are staying. (AP photo by Dylan Lovan)

The record flooding in Eastern Kentucky is only the latest hardship in a region rocked by the opioid crisis and the decline of coal. And though some locals say they've had  it and will move, the strong social network makes many more hesitant to leave, Dylan Lovan reports for The Associated Press.

"Social capital is really important," Ann Kingsolver, an Appalachian Studies professor at the University of Kentucky, told Lovan. "Those are the resources that people have through investing in social networks of kin and neighbors over many years— a kind of wealth beyond monetary value." She noted that many young adults moved back to rural Appalachia during the Great Recession in 2008 in order to access housing and child care.

And there are other benefits, she noted: Though there aren't many rental homes or hotel rooms in Eastern Kentucky, disaster victims often get clean-up help and temporary shelter from family and neighbors, Lovan reports. That includes Pam Caudill. She lives on the same street as her son in the unincorporated Floyd County community of Wayland, and said he's been a big help in cleaning up since floodwaters hit her home.

Caudill illustrates another reason why so many stay. She has considered moving to a less flood-prone area, but her home is all she has left of her husband, who died from a heart attack in May. "I have thought about it, but here’s the thing: It took everything that me and my husband could do to buy a house," Caudill told Lovan, weeping. "It’s hard to let go of something that you worked so hard for."

Finances and housing stock are also frequent barriers to moving away, though Lovan's story doesn't explicitly mention them. Eastern Kentucky has some of the lowest-income counties in the nation, and many residents may not be able to afford to move to a less flood-prone town where housing is more expensive, especially seniors on a fixed income. And available housing in higher, drier areas nearby simply may not exist.