WOODFORD COUNTY, Ky. — A state of emergency has been declared for Woodford County and the cities of Versailles and Midway.
Water levels will continue to rise along the Kentucky River in Woodford County until Monday morning. The crest is predicted to reach record levels never seen before.
For many in Woodford County, the water levels of the Kentucky River are unimaginable. Austin Robinette lives off of Clifton Road in Woodford County, which is currently closed because of flooding.
“Yeah, this is crazy. There’s two-story houses down here that almost have water in them and water is still rising,” Robinette said.
Robinette and his neighbors worked through the night and morning to clear what they could from each other’s homes before Sunday left them surrounded in water.
“Down here, everybody is kind of like family and everybody knows each other, so we all stick together and take care of each other,” Robinette said.
Nearby, on Buck Run Road, Samantha Esquivel and her boyfriend’s house was only accessible Sunday morning by boat.
“We started packing up yesterday when it was about 44 feet. We thought it was going to crest at 44 feet; got everything out, got the dogs and chickens out,” Esquivel said.
Esquivel and her boyfriend returned Sunday, surprised to see the river get even higher and hoping to find their two cats left behind.
“We left them when we thought it was just going to get a foot in the house, and they could get on top of counters,” Esquivel said.
The latest forecasts from the NOAA have the river cresting at 49.5 feet, breaking the record of 48.5 feet set in 1978.
“That’s just unimaginable to a lot of folks who have lived in Woodford County their entire life. They never thought they’d see one like ’78 again,” said Woodford County Judge Executive James Kay.
Woodford County, the city of Versailles and the city of Midway, has declared states of emergency. Kay is asking anyone not affected by flooding to conserve water.
“Right now we’re watching the water intake at the Kentucky River in Versailles and if that gets flooded, we can lose our water system,” Kay said.
It’s an unfathomable, heartbreaking loss.
“We’ve lost our home. This has been my boyfriend’s home for as long as he remembers and over the past few months since I’ve been here, I have really made it home as well,” Esquivel said.
The Kentucky River is forecasted to crest around 8 a.m. Monday, April 7.
Woodford County officials said tap water is safe to drink and expect water conservation efforts to be in place for at least the next day or two.
