Last year this time, residents of Cynthiana, Kentucky blissfully celebrated the holidays, not knowing that what the New Year would bring would change their lives forever. On March 1, a deadly flood washed through the towns, destroying homes and buildings. Many people lost their homes and all of their belongings. Others left the area to start anew elsewhere. After a year with such devastation, this Christmas brings both feelings of joy and sadness to Cynthiana residents.
Some people are glad to finally be living in their own homes for the first time since the floods.
Others say they're just looking forward to a new year and a fresh start. Linda Carson's home in Cynthiana is one house that is full of Yuletide cheer. Her tree has been decorated for weeks, a nutcracker peers at guests from an end table and a whole snowy village of tiny houses and billowy cotton inhabits her kitchen counter. The flood destroyed Carson's house by dumping knee-deep water from her living room to her bedroom and tossing her furniture to and fro until it was demolished. Determined not to leave, Carson wanted to rebuild.