Water Damage Restoration in Louisville, OH

Floodwaters aren't expected to recede significantly in Louisville until early next week.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Ohio River has risen to historic levels, with city officials comparing it to the 1997 flood in Louisville.

As of Tuesday morning, the river at the upper McAlpine locks on the downtown side is at 35.7 feet. The Ohio River is expected to rise another foot when it crests on Wednesday.

Mayor Craig Greenberg says this will go down as one of the worst flooding events in Louisville's history.

Dozens of people have been rescued, including more than 60 people at a hotel on Zorn Avenue who needed to be evacuated due to rising floodwaters.

Floodwaters aren't expected to recede significantly until early next week, according to city officials.

By Saturday, parts of the city will still be submerged in 30 feet of water. Even still, Greenberg says crews won't wait until the water is completely gone to begin focusing on clean-up efforts.

"There is so going to be so much debris left from these historic floods that we're going to get on this right away," he said.

Greenberg said community clean-up opportunities, particularly at Waterfront Park, will be announced in the coming days.

Brian Bingham, chief operations officer for Louisville MSD, said all 16 of the city's flood pumps are operational.

Those pumps, which help keep floodwaters from reaching inland communities, have removed more than 8 billion gallons of water since Friday, April 4. He said around 2.5 billion gallons of water are being pumped out every day, adding the pumps will continue to run through the end of the week.

Bingham said the Ohio River will be just a foot or two shy compared to the river's height during the 1997 flood.

"This was a major win for the community, I know its not gonna feel like that to those who have been impacted," he added, comparing the recent floods to what happened in 1997. "Typically, this would have been an event where we would have had hundreds if not thousands of houses flooded."

Greenberg also warned the community against putting themselves in unnecessary danger. He said on Monday he saw people kayaking on floodwaters.

"Please don't kayak, or go out in the water other ways," he cautioned. "I know this is an interesting, extreme, historic event but by doing things like that you run the risk of getting stuck, which means our first responders will need to come rescue you and you're putting our first responders at risk in addition to yourself."

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“If the projections hold, we expect that this will be one of the 10 largest flood events in Louisville, Kentucky's history," Mayor Greenberg said.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg is urging the community to heed warnings as the city prepares for one of the worst flooding events in its history.

Severe weather battered Louisville on Wednesday, producing a likely tornado in Jeffersontown, and kicked off a days-long rainfall that continues into the weekend.

At least six to 10 inches of total rainfall is expected by Sunday morning.

The Ohio River is forecast to crest about 23 feet above its normal height on the downtown side of the McAlpine locks.

South of the McAlpine locks, communities in west and southwest Louisville could see the river rise to around 68 feet.

“If the projections hold, we expect that this will be one of the 10 largest flood events in Louisville, Kentucky's history," Greenberg cautioned. "That is extreme weather. That may create dangerous situations, so please listen to these warnings."

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Flood walls have been installed near the river to protect the community, but the mayor says the city is also concerned about flash flooding in viaducts or other low-lying areas of the city.

Louisville Fire has already rescued some people who had their car get stuck in standing water.

RELATED: Several Louisville area roads closed due to rising flood waters | FULL LIST

Greenberg said if you see a barrier blocking a street, do not attempt to move the barrier or drive around it, otherwise you may put many people in unnecessary danger.

"When barricades are put up, those are traffic control devices," LMPD Special Operations Maj. Arnold Rivera said. "Those are there to prevent the needless loss of life. It is one thing to accidentally wander into water, it is another thing to make a conscious decision and deliberately disregard a traffic control device, putting yourself in danger, any of your passengers in danger, and any first responders. That is a violation of the traffic law and we have directed our folks to handle that accordingly."

Credit: Brooke Hasch, WHAS11

Louisville Metro Emergency Services Director Jody Meiman says if you live in a flood-prone area, now's the time to prepare.

"Plan today. We don't want anybody to wait too late to try to get out of an area," he urged. "One, we don't want to have to come and get you with a boat, and two, we don't want you to try to get out last minute and get caught in flood waters -- that's not a good situation at all."

If you see flooding, downed trees or powerlines, or any other hazard in the city that doesn't have a barrier or yellow tape around it, Greenberg says you should make a report by calling 311.

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With a second round of Ohio River flooding approaching, Jill Mercado has had enough.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — With flood walls up and sandbags down, the rising Ohio River has Jill Barnes Mercado leaving her Waldoah Beach home for good.

"It could go up five feet," she said, walking up the steps to her front door, drawing a line near the doorknob with her hand.

She usually has a pretty view of the river and hoped to enjoy it this summer.

"Every morning I wake up to the sunrise. The sunset—absolutely glorious. But I can't do anything about storms that are gonna flood my house," she said.

As the owner of Louisville Rock Shop, Mercado has plenty of stones to take with her. The colorful collection sits organized in the sun-soaked windowsills.

On Thursday, she packed up her grandmother's good crystal, wrapping it delicately in paper.

"You can't change Mother Nature, right?" she mused with a laugh.

Even if it can't be changed, you can go on defense. So the sandbags are back at Cunninghams Creekside, where customers keep getting turned away.

"They almost need a scorecard to see where you're at," a frustrated Brent George said.

Between the first round of floods, confusion over whether the restaurant's open due to road construction, and this upcoming round of flooding, he's losing out on the peak season of lent.

The staff loses too. They gutted the restaurant on Harrods Creek of its walls and lined it with tarps so it survives round two.

"I think, by far, the closest two that have ever happened," George remarked.

With the water spilling over the dock, it's just two feet higher than the Ohio River's normal 12-foot water level. But on Monday, the National Cceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecasts a height of 34 feet—22 feet above normal.

The Metropolitan Sewer District put up the flood wall at 10th Street in preparation, metal plates sealed against a rubber lining. MSD CEO Tony Parrott said Wednesday's storms were just the beginning.

"We know that the Ohio River is gonna reach moderate flood stage," he said. "Very similar to what we saw back in February."

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Fueled by historic rainfall across the region, the Ohio River crested near downtown Louisville at 36.63 feet Wednesday — the highest river level since the infamous March 1997 flood, and ranking as the eighth-highest crest on record for the location.

River levels had begun to plateau as of midday Wednesday, according to preliminary measurements at the upper gauge of the McAlpine Locks and Dam, and began to recede by the afternoon. The crest came about 1 foot shy of major flood stage, and more than 15 feet short of Louisville's flood of record, in 1937.

The gauge below the locks also crested Wednesday at about 68 feet, as the Ohio River engulfed some riverfront communities in southwest Jefferson County. The river likely won't drop below flood stage until Sunday, according to federal forecasts, barring additional heavy rains.

The Ohio River's surge in water levels in recent days is not so much the result of rain in the Louisville area, but that of upstream regions. For example, the Ohio River crested Monday night in Cincinnati, and the Kentucky River — which drains to the Ohio upstream of Louisville, near Carrollton — has seen widespread flooding in recent days.

Other areas downstream are also seeing historic Ohio River crests. At the Cannelton Locks and Dam, the river was already at major flood stage as of Wednesday, and forecasters were expecting river levels to rise another foot before cresting Friday. River levels are projected to peak this weekend in Owensboro and Henderson, and later next week in Paducah.

Louisville's highest flood in recent memory

Flooding less than two months ago was enough to activate Louisville's flood protection infrastructure, as the Metropolitan Sewer District ran pump stations and installed flood wall closures.

April floods lifted the river about 9 feet higher than in February, surpassing the 2018 crest by about 1 foot.

Although it still falls below seven other floods on record, this week's Ohio River crest is the highest in recent memory for the city.

Floodwaters had swallowed long stretches of River Road as of Wednesday. In downtown Louisville, murky brown water lapped against the KFC Yum! Center and had inundated parts of Waterfront Park, washing up brush, garbage and other debris, including a Chris-Craft boat.

Other parts of the city were protected from the deluge by Louisville's flood protection system, maintained by the Metropolitan Sewer District — the local agency responsible for keeping the Ohio River and stormwater out of Louisville neighborhoods.

The system is about 70 years old, with 26 miles of concrete flood walls and earthen levees and a network of 16 pump stations. The pumps send water accumulating inside the city out to the Ohio River.

The infrastructure protects an estimated 200,000 people and about $24 billion in property value, according to MSD. It was originally built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers following severe floods in 1937 and 1945.

But the levee system does not protect all riverfront communities from the river.

Waters were rising in parts of southwest Jefferson County, like Lake Dreamland, in addition to parts of upper River Road and other low-lying, unprotected areas. Inundation was also visible on the other side of the river, in communities like Utica, Indiana.

Ohio River flooding also disrupted operations of the Corps' lock and dam systems. The agency announced chamber closures at McAlpine Locks and Dam on Sunday, in addition to other locations along the Ohio, until river levels recede to allow safe passage through the locks.

The extent of flood damage in the Louisville area is unclear, with the river just beginning to recede. In 1997, when floodwaters were roughly 2 feet higher, damages in the metro area totaled $200 million, according to the National Weather Service, "with 50,000 dwellings affected" and closures on Interstates 64 and 65.

Connor Giffin is an environmental reporter for The Courier Journal. Reach him directly at cgiffin@gannett.com or on X @byconnorgiffin.

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