Multiple roadways and many homes, businesses, and other buildings remain under water as some area counties saw more than 10 inches of rain over the course of the last week.
Kentucky Governor Andy BeshearĀ says more than 500 road closings are still in effect, and two deaths have been reported due to flooding across the state so far, including a 74-year-old in Nelson County whom the Nelson County Sheriffās Office says was trapped in a submerged vehicle on Nelsonville Road.
Emergency officials implore residents to remember āTurn Around, Donāt Drown.āĀ Hardin County Emergency Management Director Joey ScottĀ says keeping yourself safe ultimately helps keep others safe.
āI think the most common thing Iāve been hearing is, weāll pull up on one of these sites and weāll hear somebody pull up and say āwell, I just came through there an hour ago,āā Scott said. āWell, the water has risen probably 12 inches since an hour ago, so weāre just getting people to understand the seriousness of it. Again, if your car stalls out and youāre not in immediate danger, weāre still tying up a lot of resources coming to you that could possibly be saving someone elseās life.ā
The National Water Prediction Service measuredĀ the Ohio River at McAlpine LowerĀ at 62.75 feet Sunday evening, with a projected crest of 68.5 feet early Wednesday morning. Other area waterways are also swollen, including the Nolin River which has crested over the bridge in White Mills. Area municipalities are doing their best to use available infrastructure including, asĀ Elizabethtown Mayor Jeff GregoryĀ says, Freeman Lake.
āWe have the gates completely closed on Freeman Lake, and we have for the last two to three days,ā Gregory said. āWe emptied it out when we saw that this front was coming as much as we could to get as much water out of there so weād have a lot of capacity. We have the gates shut down now, and thatās because everything downstream, if you take Willow Creek and Freeman Meadows and those different subdivisions downstream, we want them to be able to empty out, and if that water is coming out of Freeman, then thereās no capacity in Freeman Creek for that water to go into.ā
Area counties and cities have posted road closings in their jurisdictions on their Facebook pages.Ā Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District FourĀ has an ongoing list of road closures, including work at Exit 91 of Interstate 65 to clear water that is not receding.
āWith rain finally stopping, late Sunday we started using a high volume pump to get that water to an adjacent interstate drain that would still take the water,ā said KYTC District Four Public Information Office Chris Jessie. āWeāre working to get that interchange functioning normally as quickly as possible.ā
TheĀ National Weather Service in LouisvilleĀ says while rain is out of the forecast Monday and Tuesday, drier air will bring chilly temperatures. A Freeze Watch is in effect for the overnight hours Monday into Tuesday as temperatures are expected to fall into the 20s.
In appreciation of their efforts, Russell Tucker with Sonny Boys BBQ is coordinating lunch and dinner for emergency responders in Lebanon Junction.
āWeāre going to go down there, weāre going to try to give them some pulled pork sandwiches, hamburgers, just to kind of give them something warm to put in their belly while theyāre doing what the community needs help with,ā Tucker said.
TheĀ Lincoln Trail Area Development DistrictĀ is helping to cover the cost of these meals the rest of the week, along with meals for first responders in Shepherdsville. Donations to this effort may be delivered to LTADD at 750 South Provident Way in Elizabethtown.
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