Western Kentucky, Tennessee Again Hit by Flooding

August 7, 2023

Flooding in northwest Tennessee and western Kentucky has shut down roads and prompted some home evacuations.

Several inches of rain fell over 24 hours in the region along the Mississippi River, causing flash flooding.

Residents in the Green Acres mobile home community in Union City, Tennessee, were forced to leave their homes due to the high water, WREG-TV in Memphis reported. The Obion County School District canceled classes on Friday due to the flooding.

Gibson, Weakley, Crockett and Greene counties were also affected by flooding, the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency said.

The National Weather Service in Morristown, Tennessee, said in a preliminary report that an EF1 tornado touched down in Roane County.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or deaths, officials said.

More than 5 inches (12.7 centimeters) of rain fell after midnight in Hickman, a western Kentucky city near the Missouri border, weather officials said. Several roads were closed, some due to mud sliding onto the pavement, officials said.

The flooding came two weeks after heavy rains and high water hit nearby Mayfield, Kentucky in July. Mayfield was the site of a powerful tornado that destroyed much of the downtown area in late 2021. Kentucky has seen several extreme weather events in the last two years. In the eastern part of the state, nearly 9,000 homes in 13 counties were severely damaged by floodwaters in July 2022.

Photo: Tristen Gascoigne, 14, walks through his flooded yard in Hickman, Ky., on Friday. (Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader via AP)

Topics Flood Tennessee Kentucky

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