High Water

A week of repeated torrential rainfall triggered widespread flooding throughout the region leading to a crest of the Ohio River on Wednesday at its highest level in almost three decades.

Based on data recorded at Clifty Creek in Madison, Indiana, the Ohio River at Milton crested at 458.62 feet (above sea level) at 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 8. Meanwhile, Markland Dam (Lower pool) reported a crest of 57.76 feet at 3 p.m. on Tuesday and Kentucky River Lock No. 1 in Carrollton crested at 45.45 feet at 2 p.m. on Tuesday.

All three local totals were well above flood stage and caused numerous evacuations — mostly voluntary but some mandatory — dozens of road closures, school and work cancellations and widespread flooding along the Ohio and Kentucky rivers and their tributaries.

The events that led to the flooding began March 30 with a saturating rainfall followed by heavy thunderstorms on Wednesday, April 2 and Thursday, April 3 as most of the area received more than 5 inches of precipitation from a storm that dumped, in many cases, even more precipitation throughout the Ohio Valley.

Based on data collected by weather stations in nearby communities, the five-day storm produced 5.11 inches of rainfall in Carrollton and 7.84 inches in Bedford. Stations in other communities along the Ohio River reported 5.96 in Vevay, 6.92 in downtown Madison, 5.67 on Madison’s hilltop and 6.37 inches in Hanover. However, other regions in Kentucky and Indiana, which all impact local flooding, 8 or more inches and up to 12 inches of rainfall during the storm system.

Unlike some rain events, which produced scattered pockets of heavy rainfall, this particular storm blanketed the entire Ohio Valley with widespread heavy rain with the bulk of that runoff bound for the Ohio River by way of the Kentucky River.

Some of the hardest hit areas locally, were Prestonville, Worthville and Sanders in Carroll County and Milton in Trimble County, all low lying area along either the Ohio, Kentucky and Little Kentucky rivers as well as Eagle Creek. Heavy rains first caused flash flooding and washouts before rising water led to widespread backwater flooding.

Voluntary evacuations were issued in several areas early on — the nursing home in Sanders was evacuated last Friday with residents relocated to Kysoc Camp in Carrollton — and mandatory evacuations were issued later for residents of Prestonville, Happy Hollow in Worthville and several other low lying areas along the Kentucky River.

Carroll County Deputy Judge-Executive Michael Humphrey issued the mandatory evacuations on Sunday after receiving notice that high water on the Kentucky River, combined with water releases from dams upriver, could produce a “significant flooding event of which history has never seen” heading toward Carrollton.

“If you fail to evacuate, there is no guarantee in that resources exist that will provide for your rescue,” Humphrey said in the order and a video he posted on Facebook.

There was some confusion in the aftermath of Humphrey’s declaration leading to a brief scare that an accidental release of water from the Kentucky Utilities Dix Dam Generating Station, located at Herrington Lake about 80 miles upriver from Carrollton between Mercer and Garrard counties, would lead to a catastrophic flood event. However, that confusion was quickly cleared up as Carrollton Mayor Robb Adams produced a video to clarify the incident and then held a news conference on Monday to explain the situation.

“There seemed to be an extreme sense of urgency that 10 gates were accidentally opened,” Adams said during the news conference. “And the impact downstream would be impacted in a greater manner than we planned for. Three hours later, we were notified of a correction that 10 gates had been opened, but it was not accidental. Ten were in fact opened and it was a planned release, and that was done on Friday. At this point, we don’t know where the breakdown in communication originated. But there was a breakdown.

“We have discovered at this point the impact from that release, planned or not, has impacted us less than we thought yesterday,” Adams said. “It has given us higher totals, but fortunately not the same impact they relayed to us. And the end of the day, we should be grateful we didn’t get that impact.”

Gov. Andy Beshear addressed the communication issues in one of his Team Kentucky updates.

“We’re going to have to sit down and have a conversation with KU to make sure there is direct communication about how many of those gates are being opened and what the potential impact could be,” Beshear said. “We need to be better on the communication side. But the mayor of Carrollton was only operating under trying to help his people the best he could.”

Carrollton Police Department spokesman Det. Dave Roberts said more than 100 residents had been relocated and that the county fairgrounds would open if there was additional need for shelter.

Evacuations were mandated for Prestonville (70-80% evacuated), Greens Bottom (80%), Happy Hollow (50%), Blue Lick (100%), Lock No. 1 Road (100%), and Lower Mason Street (100%). Officials said forecasters were predicting the Kentucky River would rise another 1-2 feet, and the Ohio River rise another 2 feet.

“We can’t force people to leave their residences, but we’ve been encouraging them,” Roberts said. “It’s possible once these waters rise, we may not be able to get back for a rescue.”

Speaking at that same news conference, new Carroll County Emergency Management and EMS director Michael Ratliff, in just his first week on the job after the departure of Tony Crutcher, said local fire departments had been dispatched to three water rescues during the flood event but that no injuries were being reported.

At the time Ratliff said the flood event was far from over and urged local residents — whether evacuating or not — to take no chances with the high water and swollen creeks and rivers. He also noted that with even colder weather on the way that conditions were going to get even more extreme before they got better.

“Don’t take a chance. If the water is close, get out,” Ratliff said. “We don’t want to have to do a rescue if we can help it. With the temperatures dropping tonight, for safety purposes, don’t even take the chance. And we don’t want our responders in harm’s way if we can help it.”

One of the most inconvenient byproducts of the flooding locally — at least prior to the cleanup — has been the road closures. With dozens of roads closed locally, schools were forced to cancel classes or switch to virtual learning and businesses and industries struggled to have employees report for work.

Earlier this week, Carroll County listed road closures on Old Carlisle Road, Old Gilgal Road at Sheehan Road, Point Park, KY 36 East in the 1400 block, KY 467 at Buffalo Road and Jackson Ridge, Water Street, Goose Creek Road, KY 227 and Kendall Road, Hampton Lane, Mill Creek, KY 55 at Mound Hill, KY 389 and KY 55, Notch Lick Road, Happy Hollow, Blue Lick Road, Second Street, 2300 block of Lock Road, Lock No. 1 Road, as well as several spots on both U.S. 42 and KY 36, Lewis Road, Carlisle Road, Black Rock Road and KY 389 in the 1000 block.

Road closures in Trimble County included KY 36 at Milton Boat Ramp, Wises Landing Road (by Gills Ridge Road and IMI), Coopers Bottom Road past McCoys campground, RiverView Park, D. McCoy Campground and Helton Campground, Burkhardt Bottom Road near Milton, Sandhill Lane in Milton, Spring Street in Milton, School Hollow Road in Milton, Paradise Point in Milton and the KY 36-U.S. 42 Intersection in Carroll County.

Trimble County Emergency Management Agency Director Andrew Stark said flooding from the Ohio River resulted in the closure of KY 36 at about 9 p.m. Sunday. He also noted that anyone affected by the flooding and forced to evacuate may seek shelter at the City of Bedford’s Morgan Community Center.

The closure of KY 36 between Milton and Carrollton near the Milton boat ramp and the closure of the KY 36-U.S. 42 intersection in Carroll County near the Little Kentucky River perhaps had the biggest impact on local motorists by shutting down two of the easiest route to travel from Carroll County to Trimble County and Indiana at the U.S. 421 bridge in Milton. Those commuting between the communities were left with traveling U.S. 421 to I-71 and then I-71 North to KY 227 at Carrollton.

The U.S. 421 bridge over the Ohio River, which was closed by high water during the most recent similar flood event in 1997, remained open throughout the week but local businesses in Milton were closed by the high water — many of them sandbagged in an effort to hold off the water — and U.S. 421 was reduced to one lane coming off the bridge with traffic controlled by an alternative lane signal.

{h5 style=”text-align: center;”}Nationally, 18 have died{/h5}

The 18 reported deaths since the storms began on Wednesday included 10 in Tennessee. A 9-year-old boy in Frankfort, Kentucky, was caught up in floodwaters while walking to catch his school bus. A 5-year-old boy in Arkansas died after a tree fell on his family’s home, police said. A 16-year-old volunteer Missouri firefighter died in a crash while seeking to rescue people caught in the storm.

The National Weather Service warned that dozens of locations in multiple states would reach a “major flood stage,” with extensive flooding of structures, roads, bridges and other critical infrastructure possible.