CARLISLE, Ky. — People in Nicholas County are trying to help each other pick up the mess left over from significant flooding overnight and into the morning Friday.

What You Need To Know

  • Nicholas County and Carlisle saw significant flooding Thursday night into Friday morning

  • Emergency Management said one woman was killed when flood water wiped out her trailer’s foundation

  • On Friday, people in the community tried to clean up the mess and help each other out

  • More than 40 homes were damaged by flood water

The Carlisle community also mourned a woman killed by the flooding, which did serious damage to many of the small town’s homes.

“I did have a garage sitting there. And it’s three houses over,” said Wayne Shields, pointing out the damage around his house. “And this deck belongs four doors down.”

“Water is one of the most destructible things you’ll ever come across,” he said.

Shields has lived in Carlisle for 45 years, and said he’s never seen flooding like this. The rain started around 10:30 p.m. on Thursday and lasted into Friday morning.

“My grandson was beating on my door at 3 o'clock this morning. I went down the steps, I saw why. About five foot of water in my house,” Shields said.

The water was up to the fourth step of his staircase. Almost all of his belongings on his first floor were ruined.

“I lost everything downstairs. And luckily, my bedrooms are upstairs,” he said.

Flood water wedged this car under a shed on Union Road. (Spectrum News 1/Sam Knef)

Shields’ house was one of many in Carlisle that took heavy damage. Some of them looked even worse than his.

Carlisle Emergency Manager Calvin Denton said 5-6 inches of rain lead to several feet of standing water in some places. Denton also said it was the most flooding he’d ever seen in Carlisle. He said more than 40 homes suffered some kind of damage.

The flooding was enough to wipe out the foundation of one woman’s mobile home, sending the trailer into a nearby creek. She was found dead, Denton said.

Shields said Carlisle is a tight knit community, and he knew the woman who passed.

“I didn’t know her very well, but I knew her. I knew some of her kids, her grand kids. It’s a bad loss,” he said. “It takes a toll on the community.”

Emergency personnel were surveying damage and making sure others were safe on Friday.

People who live there were helping each other out, providing food and water, and helping clear debris. Shields said it’ll take a while for the community to recover, but he’s confident it will with time.