[Keith Norrington]

We have now had over a full 24 hours of thunderstorms and torrential rains in the Louisville area. The Ohio had dropped below flood stage on Friday, but is again on a steady rise and the forecast is for it to be 8 feet above flood stage by Monday morning. Some prognosticators are saying that we're in for another major flood like the one of 1997.

The Howard Steamboat Museum mansion is outside the Jeffersonville flood wall and in '97 the Jeffboat yards, Riverside Drive and Market Street were under water. The wall along the street helps, but water came into the yard through the front gate and we had seepage in the basement. The Falls of the Ohio Interpretive Center packed up all their exhibits for removal, but the water stopped just short of the door.

During the disastrous flood of 1937, my grandfather was a radio operator handling distress calls and dispatching rescuers. He said that the oft repeated and frantic phrase was "SEND A BOAT!" Let's hope we don't have a repeat of that situation, but the rain is POURING continuously on this Easter Sunday morning.

Images:
(1) New Albany, Indiana - 1937
(2) Jeffersonville, Indiana - 1937
(3) Clarksville, Indiana - 1937 - Colgate-Palmolive Plant