By Angela Hatton
Murray, KY – Storm Update as of 12:30 PM: Despite warnings from emergency management officials to avoid unnecessary travel, many in Murray are driving and walking around Calloway County. Many are surveying the storm damage from last night, and stocking up on supplies. Several are starting the process of cleaning up their yards. Joe Muncy moved to Murray two weeks ago from Florida. Today he's out cutting up a tree that fell on part of his house.
"Yeah, I was awakened last night about 12:15 . . . scared. I mean, I was scared. Y'know, and of course, you can't, you can't go outside and see what's going on. You're just kind of, y'know, stayed in the house, but sleepless night."
Dan Duncan owns a tree removal company that started working this morning at dawn. Duncan and his crew cut up two large trees on Murray's Court Square.
"They had a tree that fell back on the courthouse and we picked that up and started with this one here."
Saturated ground coupled with strong winds caused hundreds of trees to fall all over western Kentucky. The worst damage so far is in Calloway and Lyon counties.
Power crews are still out restoring electricity: This morning Paducah Power Systems sent an eight man crew to Murray to assist Murray Electric System with storm recovery. MES officials said at a briefing this morning that the damage to electric poles and grid is 10 times worse than the 2009 ice storm. The Paducah crew brought two bucket trucks and a truck that digs and sets poles. The crew also brought poles to replace those lost in the storm. Customer Service Manager Dale Hughes says that Murray Electric is responding to the damage as quickly as possible. Hughes advises residents to treat any downed lines as live and pay special attention to avoid them.
Henry County Emergency Management Director Ron Watkins reports they're still assessing the county-wide damage. He estimates that 7,500 customers are without power as of this afternoon. Most of the northern portions of the county are still without power.
"Several trees down across our roads. We've got crews out trying to remove the debris from the roadways. Probably about 20 homes have received substantial damages from trees falling on the homes."
He reports one person was injured when a tree fell on the individual's mobile home. That individual is at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Watkins wants to alert people in the region that the NOAA weather radio station for Weakley and Henry Counties is off the air. He says if you're relying on the weather radio on warnings, you may want to pay attention to other news outlets.
In Clarksville as of 10 a.m. 15,000 Department of Electricity customers were without power. They report circuits down in the areas of Saint Bethlehem, Ladd, New Providence, Dunbar Cave, East and the Hilldale area. All CDE crews are working to restore power and are requesting assistance from other utilities at this time.
At Land Between the Lakes National Recreation maintenance crews have worked through the night to clear roads of debris. Visitors should exercise extreme caution on all roads in the park due to possible flooding and debris. All roads within LBL will potentially have hazards from the Golden Pond Visitor Center South. Park staff urges visitors to be attentive to dangerous conditions and observe closures for their safety. All low lying areas throughout the park should be avoided when possible.
West Kentucky Rural Electric
West Kentucky Rural Electric reports nearly 38-hundred customers are still without power as of the early afternoon. Downed trees on the south side of Murray have taken out power lines in several areas. Murray Camelot subdivision resident Donald Crawford reports fallen trees across power lines along Robinhood Lane. 113 customers remain without power in Graves County, and 172 in Marshall County.
Trigg County
Straight-line winds made a seven- or eight-mile swipe through Trigg County. Emergency Management Director Randy Wade reports downed trees have taken out power lines and about at last report, about 1,500 customers were still without power. Wade says the majority of the damage he's seen has been roof damage a metal roof stripped from a structure, and damages from trees falling on homes. He reports no injuries as of yet.
As for flooding. The National Weather Service and US Army Corp. of Engineers are mute until after 1: o'clock when both will make reports on the impacts of last night's storms. Various news outlets report the Corp of Engineers plan on blowing up the Bird Point levee on the Mississippi River outside of New Madrid, Missouri. The plan would reportedly lessen the chances of additional major flooding in Alexander County, Illinois. Missouri Governor Jay Nixon opposes the plan saying it would destroy area homes and thousands of acres of valuable farmland. Paducah National Weather Service forecasters have yet to measure water levels today on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. They say widespread flooding has delayed reporting. Yesterday's numbers predicted the Ohio would crest at 54 feet on May 3. NWS forecasters say that number could now be much higher.
Ballard County is looking for volunteers right now to help with sand bagging residential areas at risk for flooding. Emergency Management Director Jody Brown says volunteers should come to the Ballard County Road Department on Lake Street in Barlow (across from the Ballard County Senior Citizens' Center.) as soon as possible. Flood prevention efforts in Ballard County are working to finish the sand bagging before the rain starts again later today.
"We're sand bagging houses now. We evacuated about 6 or 7 homes. We're looking to evacuate more by the end of the week. Got about 15 to 20 homes we're sand bagging now. The water it just keeps rising. The faster we sand bag, the faster the water comes in."
Waters continue to rise around Metropolis. Mayor Billy McDaniel says water is already creeping into the city's floodplain. McDaniel applauds residents who are sandbagging around their houses, though he says the efforts may be futile.
"We probably will have a voluntary evacuation, y'know to try to get we have many people that's moving now. They've realized they're fighting a losing battle there."
Massac County Emergency Manager Larry Douglass says the Ohio River may get higher than the 1937 flood. Metropolis doesn't have a flood gauge. National Weather Service officials say Paducah topped out at 60.6 feet in 37. Metropolis officials have opened Waldo Baptist Church as a community shelter, providing meals, showers, and laundry facilities to residents. McDaniel says another shelter at the city community center is opening today. That shelter will not provide food.
The Commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health says flood waters contain contaminants that should be avoided. Dr. William Hacker also recommends seeking medical attention if you come into contact with flood waters with an open wound.
If you have open wounds or lesions, or if your tetanus shot is not up to date, you may want to check with your healthcare provider if you've been in the flood waters, about getting a tetanus booster. Those are the major factors we're dealing with right now."
Dr. Hacker says flood waters frequently contain chemicals, animal waste, and run-off from septic systems that haven't functioned properly. More information on tetanus shots can be obtained from regular health care providers or local health departments