Flash Flooding Leads to Water Rescues Around Washington County

On Friday, June 6, a localized cloudburst over parts of Washington County resulted in flash flooding and multiple water rescues throughout the evening.

Photo by Rebecca Hankins.

The first call came in at 8:30 P.M. for the Salem Fire Department to respond to 305 S. Water Street in regards to people trapped in a building. Less than fifteen minutes later, the Brown/Vernon Fire Department was dispatched to the area of W. Mt. Tabor Road and S. Campbellsburg/Livonia Road to assist a woman trapped in her car as the road flooded around her.

"Everything went as well as could be expected," said Salem Fire Chief Mark Day. "We were initially toned to S. Water Street where three people were trapped in a commercial building. Those people were able to self-rescue using a truck with high clearance. We did clear a few occupied buildings to verify they had already been evacuated."

He went on to explain that most of the buildings affected were commercial buildings with little to no occupancy at the time. However, many parked vehicles were left in the water.

Many areas outside of Salem also flooded heavily, including Jim Day Road, Rinker's Creek Road, Water Tower Road, Pump Station Road, Elrod Lane, and Rush Creek Valley. The Salem Street Department and the Salem Fire Department are currently working cleanup, focusing especially on clearing mud and debris from Water Street.

Photos and videos contributed by Rebecca & Jeremy Hankins, Dillon Levering, Katie Thompson, Adam Dufour, Rebecca Hardin, Rodney Hard, Luke Dufour, and Mindy Guthrie.