Officials have ordered the evacuation of 11 families from homes in eastern Kentucky because of concerns about a potential landslide on a water-saturated hillside.



Floyd County Emergency Management Director Jim Caldwell said Tuesday that cracks have developed on a hillside in Wheelwright, raising concerns of a landslide that could have the potential to destroy 12 homes, one of which is vacant.

City officials told WYMT-TV that water in a mine abandoned 40 years ago appears to be causing the problems.

Joe Blackburn, field director in Kentucky for the federal Office of Surface Mining, says federal inspectors were on the scene last week and again this week to try to determine if mining contributed to the problem. As of Monday, Blackburn said that determination hadn't been made.

Information from: WYMT-TV, http://www.wkyt.com/wymtnews

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