I stand by the banks of the river that runs through the town of Hazard. I am at least 30 feet above the current water level. However, there is mud and debris around. The water level two nights ago was 10 meters (30 feet) higher than it is now. And this unusual extra volume of water permeated communities throughout this part of Kentucky. No wonder the force of the torrent was so great. A little further down the valley, Eunice Howard showed us what was left of her house. The house she built 27 years ago with her late husband was torn down. “I heard a noise and rolled up the window and saw the water and knew I had to get help.” Image: Eunice Howard She started sobbing: “I was at home… I said ‘well my house will be fine’…” She doesn’t really know how she managed to escape and if she didn’t, she would surely lose her life. Eunice’s granddaughter, Cortney Clemons, wanted to show us the power of water. As we walked up the river bank from where the half-intact house now stands, I realized what he was trying to explain, because the house was not built where it is now. A few hundred meters further, he showed us a patch of ground with a concrete grid. It was the foundation of her grandmother’s house. The building had literally been picked up and carried downstream. We set up our drone and it became clear: a path of destruction. It was a snapshot of so many communities being destroyed. I asked Eunice and Cortney if they had seen this type of flooding before. “Not at all… not in all our time here,” said Eunice who has been in this valley for over 50 years. Cortney added: “It’s so sad to see the house you grew up in and everything wash away. Memories… all those things you can’t get back.” She said they were going “creek fishing” to find things belonging to her last “pop”. Two things strike me about every extreme weather story I report – and there have been a lot recently. The first is that it is always the poorest who suffer the most. So often the weather discriminates. In New York last year, the dead were those who lived in the underground apartments. Here in Kentucky, the communities are not in good condition and their homes are not well built. And that’s the second thing – governments need to completely review building and planning regulations with much more urgency. Homes are not built to withstand the extreme weather conditions that are now increasingly the norm. There is a lot of talk about climate adaptation finance, but it is too late for any community damage, now seemingly with such a buffer. Fighting climate change is about much more than reducing our emissions.