CARLISLE, Ky. — It has been more than two months after devastating floodwaters hit Carlisle, and residents are still cleaning up. They hope to never go through this again, but experts studying recent weather patterns say this part of the country is in for much more flooding. With changing environment and weather patterns, flood risks are expected to increase in Kentucky. University of Kentucky professor Alan Fryar said 302,486 properties are already at risk and within 30 years, about 309,825 will be at risk. Fryar is a professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at UK.
What You Need To Know
- Carlisle endured historic flooding July 29-30
- Over 40 homes and businesses were destroyed in the flood
- Flooding is the most frequent and costly natural disaster in the commonwealth, according to Kentucky Emergency Management
- Experts say more flooding is on the way
It started raining at 10:30 p.m. the night of July 29, and by 3 a.m., water was rushing in more than 40 homes and businesses in Carlisle. Garrett’s Furniture Company has been a staple in Carlisle since 1952, and that's why Doug Garrett is doing everything in his power to keep the family business alive after losing so much in the flood. He refuses to close his doors or stop furniture shipments to his warehouse.
“I do not have as much coming out of there as I thought. I know we need these out so let us get these first and see what we have got room for,” said Garrett.
In Garrett’s basement, things are different. The floor has glue leftover from the flood where the carpet once was. Now the extra showroom is filled with the loud sounds of fans trying to get rid of extra moisture from the flood.
“Actually, I know it covered where the carpet was stripped off. The rest of it has to come off just from going up and down the steps after the flood,” said Garrett.
The water was up to his sixth stair in Garrett’s basement. Couches, beds and tables were floating from floodwater. Garrett hopes the flood was a freak thing. But that is not the case, according to the University of Kentucky Climate Consortium, created to tackle the issues of climate change. In fact, they say this type of flooding is something people in the region need to get used to.
“One of the things that can aggravate flooding and that is linked to climate change is increasing intensity of rainfall. So instead of getting an inch of rain in 24 hours, we get four inches of rain in eight hours. If that water cannot soak in, then it gets weighed down to the water table underground as quickly as raining. Then the water that is rejected moves over the surface instead,” said Fryar.
Flooding is the most frequent and costly natural disaster in the commonwealth, that is according to Kentucky Emergency Management. The state averages an annual loss of more than $40 million dollars. Garrett is thankful to have gotten some help from community volunteers, along with spending $40,000 of his own money.
“That is fine. It needed to be redone anyway. That was probably something that just spurred me along on that one. But it is coming along,” said Garrett.
With the current climate trends, it may not be long before Garrett has to go through all of this again. According to the National Weather Service, Kentucky accounts for 1% of the U.S. population, but flood deaths between 1996 and 2020 in the state account for 4% of the total flood deaths that occurred across the United States.