School resumes in Clay County on Wednesday and residents of the Upper Cumberland Plateau who fled floodwaters have mostly returned home. But emergency responders are keeping a close eye on the rivers that are channeling away the weekend’s torrential rains.
In Celina, near Dale Hollow Lake, those who live near the shoreline or along the Obey and Cumberland rivers took refuge at the city’s hospital, which has no patients because it’s closing later this week.
Donald Goldsby, a retired police officer, was the last of about a dozen people who took up residence in the patient rooms.
“I said, ‘Well, I’m a refugee from the flood.’ And they said, ‘Well, we got a place for you.’ I said, ‘Bless you,’ ” Goldsby said. “That was Saturday night, and I’ve been here ever since.”
Floodwaters cut off access to many homes, like Goldsby’s camper, but have not done extensive damage.
As residents return, they’re being warned that it won’t take much rain in the coming weeks to have a repeat. Typically, at this time of year, the Army Corps of Engineers is drawing water down on Dale Hollow Lake to prepare for spring rains. But currently, the lake is at 75 percent capacity and the Cumberland River is expected to remain at elevated levels,
according to the National Weather Service.
“We’re hoping for as little rain as possible for a while,” says Natalie Boone, director of the Clay County Emergency Management Agency. “We’re just urging citizens to monitor those river levels [because] we anticipate this being an extended thing.”
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