Comment Missy Crovetti panicked Thursday when she was given a photo of her nearly 100-year-old grandmother sitting on her bed, partially submerged in the floodwaters that ravaged eastern Kentucky. The photo showed Mae Amburgey — or “MomMae,” as Crovetti calls her — wearing capri pants and a turquoise sweater that was already half-soaked. Amburgey had her arms wrapped around her right knee. the bottom of her feet disappeared into the muck. Around her: an upturned dresser, artwork made by her grandson, a pillow with one of her shoes on it, and a box of Little Debbie Nutty Buddy bars. From her home in Green Oaks, Ill., Crovetti, 52, immediately tried to call her grandmother but couldn’t get through. She also tried her brother, who had taken the photo, and her uncle — who were both at her grandmother’s house. They didn’t answer either. He didn’t know if they were still in the house or if they had escaped. More than 500 miles away, Crovetti did the only thing she could think of to help: She posted the photo on Facebook with a plea in hopes that her SOS might reach someone in Letcher County, Ky., who would she could help her grandmother, who is either 97 or 98, depending on which family Bible you consult. “My grandmother, uncle and brother are trapped in her house across the street from the high school, if anyone has a boat around this area the water is about 4 feet deep in the house,” he posted. Posted this post at 1:26 pm. and he hoped that would be enough. “I was desperate,” she said. Amburgey, her son and her grandson were just three of the thousands of Kentuckians forced to deal with the effects of torrential rains that hit the eastern part of the state late last week. Between 14 and 16 inches of rain fell over a four-day period, turning idyllic streams and creeks into rivers, according to the National Weather Service office in Jackson, Ky. On Tuesday, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) said the disaster had killed at least 37 people, displaced hundreds and caused “hundreds of millions of dollars” in damage, according to The Associated Press and a YouTube video of the governor. On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Beshear warned that as the floodwaters receded, “we’re going to be finding bodies for weeks.” Kentucky flooding death toll rises to 28, more storms coming Randy Polly, who was across the street from Amburgey’s home during Thursday’s flooding, told The Washington Post that he saw floodwaters overflow and kill two people “right in front of me” early Thursday. When he called 911, a dispatcher told him that even if they didn’t try to field more than 300 calls, rescuers wouldn’t be able to reach them until the waters receded. Since then many homes have been damaged in and around the area and people are desperate for basic supplies. “This is a war zone,” Polly said. Before she knew of any flooding, Crovetti woke up last Thursday and, knowing forecasters had predicted extreme conditions, checked the weather to see if they were right. But not in her home state of Kentucky. Because her son attends school in Seattle, which was threatened by a heat wave, she checked the weather for the Pacific Northwest. When Crovetti did, she happened to spot a flood warning for her home state of Kentucky. As she investigated further, she realized that her relatives in Ermina might be in danger. Photos posted by her friends on Facebook confirmed her hunch. The flood waters seemed to rise with every picture he saw. Then she started recognizing landmarks in some of the photos and knew that if those places had flooded, her grandmother’s house would have. That’s when he realized “my family was in trouble.” Shortly after, an acquaintance sent her the photo that her brother, Grigoris, had taken of their grandmother. Although Crovetti was unable to reach anyone by phone, Polly said a friendly stranger soon came to the family’s aid. At first, the man couldn’t get to Amburgey’s home because of the floodwaters, which Polly estimated was 20 feet high at one point. But on a second try, he went upstream and used the current to drift home. After breaking a window, she was able to help Amburgey and two male relatives out of the house. Polly, 49, captured the rescue on video and then watched as the party of four drove away. “I didn’t think I’d ever see them again,” Polly told The Post. Dramatic video captures nearly 100-year-old Mae Amburgey being rescued from her flooded home in Whitesburg, Ky., on July 28. (Video: Randy Polly) About 45 minutes after Crovetti posted the SOS call on Facebook, a relative sent another photo of her grandmother, this time on oxygen in a hospital. She later learned that her uncle Larry had been swept away by the other three at their party and was stuck in a tree until the unnamed rescuer returned to rescue him as well. Crovetti said she does not know who the man is and referred to him as “the good Samaritan” and her grandmother’s “guardian angel.” But it’s still not a happy ending, he said. Her grandmother came down with pneumonia and suffered a cut on her leg, part of which has become infected. “We’re just hoping he pulls through,” Crovetti said. “She has a long way to go.” So does Kentucky, he added. Crovetti and Polly both pointed out that thousands of people in eastern Kentucky are suffering from flooding of biblical proportions. Hundreds of homes have been damaged in the Ermine area alone, Polly said. People need basic supplies like cleaning products and fresh water. “We need help so badly,” Polly said. “People have no idea what’s going on here.”