The northern Kentucky city of Falmouth in Pendleton County was among the communities that were evacuated during last week’s storms. The evacuation order has since been lifted and residents are returning home.
County officials say flooding in Falmouth was the worst it's been since 1997. Waters rose to around 39 inches during the flood’s crest.
Rob Braun is Pendleton County’s public information officer. He says they’re starting damage assessments in the area.
“They will appeal to FEMA when they get some sort of dollar figure in mind for what it's going to cost to revamp the whole area and see if there are any FEMA dollars, meaning federal dollars, available to help the cause,” Braun said.
One death was reported near the flood, but it’s not clear whether the death happened because of drowning or a medical event. The flood also caused a motor oil spill at a nearby trucking company that contractors are working to clean up.
Braun says efforts to protect residents otherwise went smoothly.
“I attribute that to the folks who were both running this flood effort, and the participants, largely volunteers, had been through the ‘97 flood, so everybody knew what they were doing,” Braun said. “So they really just pulled out the playbook from ‘97 and went for it.”
That also comes as Falmouth mayor Luke Price resigned from his position Monday, with the town’s police chief taking over in the interim.
Braun says the resignation won’t have an impact on emergency management. A statement says the resignation was because Price had accepted a job that would impact his duties as mayor.
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