After deadly flash floods, Kentucky keeps watch on rising water

Flash flooding from days of severe storms left Kentucky under a state of emergency over the weekend, sending water over roads and into low-lying areas in several counties. By late Saturday, state officials said three people had died in Madison County and one in Jackson County and warned that high water and storm damage could linger into the new week.

In Hancock County, attention has focused more on overflowing creeks and the Ohio River than on loss of life. Hancock County picked up roughly 2 inches of rain over 24 hours, and by late Monday morning the river at the Cannelton Lock and Dam stood at about 24.6 feet, above its normal pool of 10 feet but still below the site’s 42-foot minor flood stage.

Local officials say they will keep watching both the river and smaller streams as runoff moves through the basin. Hancock County Road Department crew members, along with the state’s highway crews, will continue clearing limbs, debris and other hazards from roads.

Residents can watch for road-closing updates and other local information on the Hancock County Kentucky Emergency Management, Kentucky Emergency Management, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and Kenergy social media pages for changes in highway conditions and power service.

Hancock County spent much of the weekend under flood watches and warnings as storms tracked along the Ohio River valley. A National Weather Service flash-flood warning included southeastern Hancock County along with portions of nearby Breckinridge, Daviess and Ohio counties after reports of heavy rain, rising creeks and water over some roadways in communities to the south and east.

Forecasters said repeated storms could push creeks out of their banks and cover low-water crossings, and regional posts described high water and rising small streams, but as of Monday Hancock County was not among the counties with confirmed flood-related deaths.

Daviess County saw heavier street flooding than most of Hancock County, with photos and video from Owensboro along the shared Ohio River corridor showing vehicles moving through deep water on some city streets as storm drains struggled to keep up. Rural areas around Hancock dealt more with swollen creeks and high water in low spots than with widespread street flooding.

Elsewhere in Kentucky, the same storm system hit hardest along and east of Interstate 75. On Saturday, thunderstorms kept redeveloping over communities that had already been soaked the previous weekend, dropping about 7 inches of rain around Richmond in roughly six hours and more than 10 inches in some areas south of Louisville, prompting numerous water rescues.

More than 60 water rescues have been carried out across Kentucky, and some homes remain underwater in the worst-hit areas.  Officials said the worst damage and loss of life were in Madison and Jackson counties, where floodwater swept into homes and vehicles.

Madison County saw some of the most severe scenes. In and around Richmond, a flash-flood emergency was declared as water rose quickly through neighborhoods, filling streets and surrounding houses. Police there said a man and woman were found dead inside a basement apartment that flooded, two of the four deaths reported over the weekend.

State and local agencies reminded drivers not to cross water-covered pavement or go around barricades, warning that fast-moving water, even when it looks shallow, can carry vehicles off the road. Officials urged Kentuckians to avoid flooded roads, especially at night, and to use extra caution this week as crews check bridges, repair washouts and watch for any additional rounds of storms.