IRVINE, Ky. (LEX 18) — Valentine's Day is one of the busiest times of year for Floral Design by Nikki. She says she's seen hundreds of orders today.
Owner, Turean ‘Nikki’ Angel says, "Oh my God. I am about to pull my hair out."
As severe weather looms in the Irvine area and Angel is reminded of the flooding she experienced in 2021.
She says, "Last time it was past Valentine's. I have time to have friends come to help me move the stuff. But this time I don't."
She says her store had eight inches of water. She lost about $10,000 of merchandise. This time. She says she hasn't had time to think about prepping. I spoke with the owners of 'Chynna's Smalltown Shop. They weren't here for the '21 river flooding.
Chynna Hardy, says, "Yes well we've been worried since we heard about it and we've just been trying to figure out what would be the best route to go. We've been trying to wait it out because we didn't want to start freaking out at first."
More water is expected through this area, and they say it's something they're keeping an eye on.
She says, "Well I know we've been trying to keep up with FEMA. We know that they've been doing Facebook lives and that helps a lot."
Estill County's emergency manager says that they are expecting to see some river flooding on the Kentucky River here. They're also expecting to see some flash flooding in the area. But the good news is that their forecasting for the Ravenna lock has gone down a little bit since yesterday.
Emergency manager Ronnie Riddell says, "You know we're looking at a better situation today than we had yesterday but it's still a significant flood and we don't want people to get caught off guard if that forecast happens to go up."
Estill County Emergency Management is asking people to prepare for this weather ahead of time.
Riddell says, "Make sure that you have the food that you need, your medications that you need and any special items that might be necessary for you to get through day-to-day life."
Angel says she has more orders to focus on and hopes that it doesn't flood. "Business has to keep going. Customer satisfaction first."
