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Released 7 August 2009
The Salvation Army Helping Flood Victims in Louisville, Kentucky
LOUISVILLE, KY - A severe thunderstorm stalled over Louisville on Tuesday August 4, 2009 leaving streets flooded and people trapped in cars
and stranded in neighborhoods. This storm educated a lot of people to the
meaning of “flash flood.” The waters rose very quickly in many areas catching
the entire city off guard. In a matter of minutes the water was as high as car windows.
Manhole covers were blowing off because of the heavy rain. All of this hit
right at the
morning rush hour.
The
downtown area and west Louisville were the
hardest hit areas from this record breaking rainfall in Louisville. In some areas more than six inches
came down in an hour’s time. A second storm in the afternoon further
complicated an
already
challenging situation. The Salvation Army in Louisville was not spared from the
flooding, as the Louisville Area Command had about an inch of sewage
water on its ground floor, The Center of Hope, across the street from LAC, had
about two inches of sewer back up in its basement and extensive roof leakage,
bringing down ceiling tiles. One of the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Clubs
also had water in its basement and perhaps hardest hit was the Louisville South
Corps. Lt. Christina Coulson, Corps Officer reported, “When
it rains, it pours. And obviously, that is what has happened today! As Chris
and I tried to
get
into the office this morning, we were unable to do so as the roads had already
begun to flood around the Corps and cars were not able to make it through.” They later found out that they had
approximately 3 feet of water in the entire Corps.
On
August 4 The Salvation Army provided meals for approximately 150 firefighters
who were doing overtime. Another 100 meals went to the Center of Hope to provide meals for residents in the shelter as the kitchen was not restored
to working order until August 5. Clean up kits were made available for those
with the daunting task of clean up from the floods, and as of August 6, 200
kits were given to families in need. Five hundred more kits are in route to the
area and are expected to arrive tomorrow.
The
Center of Hope is assisting in the replacement of
clothing and furniture as it becomes available for flood victims. Many of the
victims live in low income housing and are renters who have no insurance.
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