Flood in Livingston County, Kentucky

Record flooding occurred on the Ohio River. At the Smithland river gage, the flood crest of 54.89 feet on the morning of May 6 was about 3.5 feet higher than the 1997 flood. The activation of the New Madrid Floodway by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spared the city of Smithland from an even higher crest that would likely have overtopped the makeshift levee protecting the city. The levee was on the verge of failure before the levee was blown up on the Mississippi River. With the detonation of the Mississippi River levee at Birds Point, Missouri, the Ohio River stopped rising or rose much more slowly at the Smithland gage. Due to flooding of the Ohio River, there was extensive sandbagging, and a temporary levee was constructed around Smithland. Homeowners were evacuated from Smithland and many other low-lying areas from Birdsville to Ledbetter. Lower sections of Ledbetter were evacuated. Preliminary estimates were that around 100 homes were flooded, up to the roofline in a couple of cases. Temporary shelters were set up for evacuees. Floodwaters entered a gas station on U.S. Highway 60 in Smithland. Several state roads were closed, along with numerous county roads. U.S. Highway 60 was closed to through traffic at Smithland, and sections of U.S. Highway 60 were raised above floodwaters in the Ledbetter area. Police established checkpoints on U.S. 60 to keep out sightseers.

Heavy rainfall in March set the stage for major flooding when record-setting rains fell in April and May. At Paducah, 15.91 inches of rain fell in April, which was 10.96 inches above normal. It was not only the wettest April on record, but the wettest month ever recorded at Paducah. In May, 8.74 inches of rain fell. This was 3.99 inches above normal for the month. Paducah had the wettest meteorological spring (March through May) period on record with 31.21 inches. This was 63 percent of the normal for an entire year. At Evansville, April was the second wettest April on record with 11.77 inches. For the season, Evansville had the second wettest meteorological spring with 25.01 inches. The result of all this rain was rapid and dramatic rises on rivers. Record flood crests occurred on some rivers, inundating numerous homes and businesses. There were major impacts to transportation both on land and water. There were numerous closed roads across the region, leading to often lengthy detours. Because of the high water, there were numerous day and nighttime restrictions to barge traffic. Hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland were flooded. Crops were late getting planted.