Flooding in Kentucky, March 2 to 31, 1997

Major flooding of the lower Ohio River occurred in mid March. The crest near 52 feet at Paducah was the highest since about 1950, and one of the worst floods on record. It was still well below the record 60-foot crest in the Flood of 1937. The President declared most western Kentucky counties along the river to be disaster areas. Widespread rainfall amounts between 8 and 13 inches upriver from Evansville to Cincinnati occurred within a three day period. This resulted in a major flood crest that took a few weeks to travel down the Ohio River. Hundreds of homes were evacuated along the western Kentucky side of the Ohio River. A county by county list of evacuations includes 200 homes in McCracken County, 20 homes in Ballard County, 10 homes in Livingston County, and 200 homes in Henderson County. Daviess County experienced severe problems as a result of the combined effects of major flooding along the Ohio and Green Rivers. Tributaries that flow into the Ohio River backed up, causing serious flooding many miles away from the Ohio. For example, the Tradewater River flooded back into Webster County, causing evacuations at Blackford. At least 60 families were forced from their homes in Webster County, partly due to flash flooding. The Clarks River, which flows into the Ohio River near Paducah, also flooded houses in McCracken County. Most major cities along the Ohio River in west Kentucky were spared from major damage by floodwalls and levees. First Street in downtown Owensboro was flooded. The Executive Inn, a major hotel and retail complex in Paducah, was closed for the first time in its 15-year history. Smaller communities not protected by flood control structures were endangered. The town of Smithland, about 20 miles east of Paducah, was saved by a massive sandbagging effort that lasted over two weeks. Numerous roads were closed across the lower Ohio Valley, including sections of U.S. 60 near Smithland, Henderson, and Owensboro. The bridge connecting Wickliffe, Ky and Cairo, Il was closed for about a week. The National Guard was called in to patrol for looters, control access to restricted areas, and pump out water. TVA dams on the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers mitigated the flooding from Smithland downstream, but were still releasing huge volumes of water due to flooding in the Tennessee Valley. Flooding downstream from Kentucky Dam affected Calvert City. Agricultural damage was very limited because most crops were not yet planted. The hardest hit crop was the winter wheat crop. An estimated total of 130,000 acres of cropland was submerged in the six westernmost Kentucky counties. Some Ohio River crests include: 53.8 feet at Uniontown (flood stage 37 feet), 51.4 feet at Smithland (flood stage 40 feet), and 51.8 feet at Paducah (flood stage 39 feet).