POWELL COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — It's been an exhausting two days since flood waters first swept through cities in Powell County, turning commonly traveled roads unrecognizable.
Pompeii Road, one of the flooded areas in Clay City, used to have a soy bean field on one end and a driving range on the other. Now it replicates a lake from Red River's flooded waters.
"You can see behind me, Pompeii road is going to be covered for at least the next 18 to 24 hours," explained Kevin Babcock, the Powell County Emergency Management Services director. "If you look back over to where you can see the road itself. There's actually a bridge right there. That's where the bridge actually crosses where the blacktop is."
A few years ago, the city spent $300,000 to raise the roads so it's passable when the Red River rises, not prepared for this level of flooding.
Other areas in Powell County that are still flooded are the Bowen area to North Fork Road, Rosslyn City and Maple Street in Stanton.
"We had a lot of concerns. We had citizens who called us and asked for guidance in what to do. We had a wonderful response from our citizens, they did exactly what we asked them to do. They prepared. They were ready to go and that helped out tremendously," said Babcock.
No evacuation efforts were needed because of the communities quick preparedness.
On the outskirts of Powell County, the Red River Gorge saw limited flooding. Team members advise outdoor enthusiasts to take it easy.
"Just exercise extreme caution if there is still water on the roadways. Turn around, do not try to drive through any water that is standing because the roadway underneath could have washed out and you don't really even know it," said Pete Fingerson, the Gorge's tourism executive director.
Right now, Natrual Bridge State Park is housing a dozen families who were displaced and has room for more if needed.
As EMS waits for the water across the county to recede, it's best to avoid flooded areas for everyone's safety.
"Continue to prepare. There's gonna be another flood. There will be other issues. Whether it's the snow coming up or I don't make light of a situation but we went from bob sleds to canoes, canoes to bob sleds. Now we've got another storm coming up. Be prepared," said Babcock.
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