SHELBYVILLE, Ky. — Flash flooding affected Kentuckians in Shelby County over Labor Day weekend.
You probably couldn’t tell by looking at the calm creeks on Monday, but creeks rose more than 10 feet on Saturday evening Bagdad Fire Chief Rusty Newton said.
The first floor of Wayne Gipson and Helen Spencer’s home was entirely filled. They say they lost a lot to the rushing water.
"Lord, I was shaking. It was terrible,” Spencer said. "I had a deep freezer full of food. It took everything. I had turkey and two hams."
They also had lost things that can't be bought - 30 years’ worth of memories.
"We had pictures and everything, that got destroyed,” Spencer said.
“It's rough, I'll tell you that,” Gipson added. “It really is."
While first responders worked to save Gipson and Spencer, another emergency arose right in the middle of the street in front of their home.
Darrell and Linda Aldridge became stranded in their car as they were surrounded by water.
"It was like a foot deep of water just rushing down. We couldn't do a thing but just sit there,” Darrell recalled.
Luckily, responders were able to reach them; had they been a little closer to the stream, a bad situation could have been much worse.
"When you think about it, it makes you more scared,” Linda said.
Darrell said this makes you understand what eastern Kentucky went through.
"Everybody says, ‘oh you've got time to get out' - you don't have time,” Darrell said.
Newton said he and other first responders know how important split decisions are.
"They don't want to see someone to, to not only lose their property, but they don't want them to lose their lives either,” he said.
He spoke to WHAS11 in the front yard of a home that was hit hard. The foundation was completely removed.
Newton said the family who lived there narrowly escaped through a window.
"We've seen flooding in this area, nothing to this magnitude,” he said.
Newton showed WHAS11 debris and damage, all of which is more visible now. But, he's grateful the flood didn't take what matters most - the people he serves.
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