Flash Flooding in Southern Washington County Leads to Property Damage and Multiple Rescues

Jacob Dufour | Publisher
Jul 18
4 min read

Updated: Jul 28

UPDATE: It was previously reported in this article that at 5:42 p.m. on Thursday, a dispatch went out to E State Road 60, just north of Pekin. A caller reported seeing people trying to evacuate their home through waist-deep water. No further information was sent out. Upon further research, Sheriff Miller confirmed from Pierce-Polk Fire Chief Jeff Miller that there was no emergency when responders arrived at the scene, which is the reason no additional information was recorded.

On Thursday evening, July 17, local meteorologist Brian Wolfe, M.S., said that a “stationary front continued to stall over the region, creating a very moist and unstable environment with unusually high dew points in the lower 80s and abundant atmospheric moisture.”

The result: a sudden and intense burst of rainfall that overwhelmed southern Washington County.

“During the early evening, two waves of thunderstorms moved through and produced intense downpours,” Wolfe said. “Radar estimated that isolated areas from south of Salem through Pekin, Sellersburg, and Charlestown received 3 to 4 inches of rain in just 90 minutes, while surrounding communities saw a consistent 1 to 2 inches.”

Washington County Sheriff Brent Miller said multiple departments responded throughout the evening, particularly in the Pekin and South Boston areas. “We had people ready for water rescues,” Miller said. “The DNR was on standby, and everybody was ready to go.”

Five People Rescued from Flooded Home

At approximately 5:27 p.m., the Pierce-Polk Volunteer Fire Department was dispatched to S Old State Road 60 north of Pekin, where a woman, her husband, and their three grandchildren were reportedly trapped inside a flooding home.

“A deputy (Paul Reyling) got there and got them out of the house and got them to safety,” Sheriff Miller said. “Water did get up into the house, however it did not reach the height of the receptacles, so the house will have to be cleaned, and then the family will be able to move right back in. It didn’t get destroyed.”

Vehicles Swept Away in South Boston

Ten minutes later, at 5:37 p.m., the Franklin Volunteer Fire Department was dispatched to State Road 160 just east of South Boston, where flooding had overtaken the roadway. The initial report suggested that people were trapped in cars floating away.

“It was my understanding that these vehicles had no one in them,” said Miller, who has since verified that the cars were in fact unoccupied. “They were parked in a driveway, and they floated off the property onto the neighboring property. That doesn't happen every day—that vehicles just float away like that. But it’s still concerning, and we’re thankful that nobody got washed away with those vehicles.”

Driver Abandons Car in Floodwaters

One of the more harrowing incidents of the night came just after 10:30 p.m., when Pierce-Polk VFD was dispatched to the location of a bridge on S Martinsburg Road. A car had become trapped, and the caller reported that they had exited the vehicle and were attempting to walk through the rising water.

“That was somebody that avoided the warnings—‘Turn around, don’t drown’—and tried to drive through water, became stuck, and then got out and was able to walk away from it,” Miller said. “It’s those deals where we try to emphasize to people time and time again—‘Turn around, don’t drown.’ That could’ve been a different outcome, but luckily it ended in a good way.”

Camper Swept Away and Destroyed Behind Casey’s

Perhaps the most visually dramatic scene of the evening was the destruction of a camper behind Casey’s gas station in Pekin. Video shared on social media showed the camper slowly drifting before being pulled under a bridge and torn apart by the current.

According to Emergency Management officials, the camper had been moved to that location recently so its owner could watch the Pekin Independence Day fireworks and had not yet been returned to a more secure site.

“You know, a lot of times people don't truly understand the force of water,” Miller said. “When you start the video and you're seeing the camper just slowly drifting away, most people just don't think too much about it—until it hit the bridge. Once it started getting restrictions, you see what the water did to it. It just buckled that camper, and it's like… whoa.”

“People just don’t realize the power of moving water, and that can get you in trouble real quick,” he added. “Luckily there was nobody in it, and no pets. Just an unfortunate incident.”

Fortunately, despite the drama, there were no injuries reported in connection with Thursday’s flooding — a stroke of luck, Miller said, that could have easily gone the other way.

Looking Ahead

Though the immediate flash flood threat has diminished, a Flood Advisory remains in effect for the Blue River in Fredericksburg through Saturday morning. According to Meteorologist Brian Wolfe, M.S., the river is expected to crest just below flood stage at 19.7 feet by 2:00 p.m. Friday, and with another 2–3 inches of rain possible over the next week, already saturated soils are expected to keep the flood risk elevated.