Saturday’s Flooding Leaves County Dealing With Washed Out Local Roads
Photo: Tammy Cox Miller via
Mercer County Emergency Management Facebook page
Oregon Road is closed from Gill Lane to the boat docks, with numerous culverts washed out there as well as on Robb Lane and Mundy’s Landing, county officials say.
Robert Moore
Herald Staff
[email protected]
Mercer County officials are still dealing with the lasting impact of last weekend’s flooding.
Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency on Saturday, June 27, for Kentucky, followed by Mercer County and the cities of Harrodsburg and Burgin.
Officials say 23 roads across the county were impassable at one point, with Oregon Road in Salvisa being hit the hardest. On Tuesday, Oregon was still closed from Gill Lane to the boat docks, with numerous culverts on Oregon, as well as Robb Road and Mundy’s Landing, needing replacement, according to Mercer County Road Department Supervisor Todd Palmer.
Across the commonwealth, there were four reported fatalities in Saturday’s flooding, with three deaths reported in Madison County, which was hit the hardest. On Sunday, Gov. Beshear reported at least 17 Madison County households were sheltering while 320 homes there were still without water.
Some parts of Kentucky received as much as eight inches on Saturday. Mercer County received a recorded 4.82 inches on Saturday, according to the Mercer County Sanitation District with 5.79 inches total for the weekend.
On Tuesday, the governor announced that the state government launched an unmet needs survey and damage reporting tool, available online at kyem.ky.gov/recover-and-mitigate/individual-assistance/ky-ia-intake.
Gov. Beshear encouraged anyone impacted by this weekend’s flooding to fill this out so they can access the resources.
Beshear said teams from Kentucky Emergency Management (KYEM) are out in affected communities surveying damage. He said his administration plans to make an official request for public and individual assistance from the federal government.
At the Mercer County Fiscal Court’s meeting on Tuesday, June 30, Emergency Management Director Brad Cox thanked responders—the police, fire and emergency medical service personnel, as well as county, city and state road workers—for their efforts Saturday.
“It was just extraordinary,” Cox said. “I can’t say enough what these guys did.”
Mercer was fortunate in that, while the flooding was countywide, the water receded almost as quickly as it appeared. Cox said most roads were reopened within a few hours.
“Everything went as smoothly as it could go,” Cox said Tuesday, “especially considering the amount of rain we had.”
Cox said the recent flooding was “nothing like last year,” both in terms of hoMe infiltration and river flooding.
“We were actually very lucky,” Road Department Supervisor Todd Palmer said.
Judge-Executive Sarah Steele asked for the public’s patience. Even with the disaster declarations, Steele said it’s still a long, “grueling” process to get Federal Emergency Management Agency reimbursements for disaster relief efforts.
On Tuesday, Steele said the county would be lucky to know about federal funding by the fall. Until then, the county will have to draw on its reserves to repair roads, hoping to secure federal reimbursement.
Mercer County Fire Chief David Goodlett said firefighters had performed several water rescues. In the process, they learned that their boats were not designed for swift-water rescues. Goodlett said they were working to find rafts that could be used in similar situations.
One piece of advice Goodlett and other county officials had to share with the public in future flooding events: do not drive on closed roads.
Goodlett said there was one spot where they had to help people three times because they ignored warning signs. In some cases, he said, people were moving barricades to keep driving down flooded roads.
“Please don’t drive through that,” Magistrate Tim Darland said Tuesday. “You’re not only putting yourself in danger, but you’re also putting these guys in danger.”
