BURGIN, Ky. (LEX 18) — The last couple of weeks, we've been sharing with you the cities in Central Kentucky that are working diligently to get back on their feet following the severe flooding the area saw.
Burgin in Mercer County is one of the several cities still working tirelessly to get back what they lost. Burgin Mayor Joseph Monroe says the city saw up to 14 feet of floodwaters, turning portions of his city into a lake.
Kevin Wallace is a Mercer County EMS worker and Burgin resident. He remembers the day his home began to flood as if it were yesterday. He describes the sound of water rushing in like the ocean.
“So the day of the flood, I actually work EMS here in Mercer County and I was out on a run. Wife was trying to get a hold of me," said Wallace. “Said ‘hey I’ve got water coming in through the AC vents. I don’t know what to do.”
Wallace and his wife have been displaced from their home for the last two weeks. They recently found out they are having a baby, and now their concern has moved from the state of their home to the health of the mom and baby.
“Living in the house, mold conditions, mildew and everything else. We don’t know what all was in the water and it’s got up under the house and inside the house. So we’re- our concern is her health and of course the babies health," said Wallace.
Mayor Monroe says the city received a grant through FEMA a couple of years ago to fix the flooding problem. “This past Wednesday, we had four geologist from the University of Kentucky come in and do some testing to see what exactly is underground that we’re dealing with.”
FEMA informed Monroe that this testing is essential to understanding how to deal with future flooding and why it occurs.
Monroe says, despite it all, the community has banded together. “It was heartbreaking when all of this started because there wasn’t nothing, as the Mayor, that I couldn’t do that I wasn’t already doing,” Monroe explains how the city was using two pumps to remove the water. He had ordered a third pump, but it was pumping out too much water and doing further damage.
For now, Kevin works to clean out his home and hopes to rebuild one day. He says he loves where he lives and wouldn't want to build a home anywhere else.
"The people here in the city have been extremely helpful making sure we have cleaning supplies or whatever it is that we need. Do you guys need food? Do you guys need some meals?”
Monroe says with President Trump's recent FEMA 30-day extension, people will have time to apply for individual assistance to help them during this time. Federal assistance can help cover rentals, home repairs, or temporary housing, in addition to personal property losses or other needs not covered by insurance.
If you'd like to volunteer to help out the people of Burgin, you can reach out to the city on their Facebook page.
