‘Not out of the woods yet’: Tornado devastates Jefferson County, officials prepare for flooding

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (FOX 56) — Louisville Mayor Craig Greenburg has declared a state of emergency after the city sustained extensive damage overnight and prepares for the severe weather to come.

“We’re not out of the woods yet,” Greenburg affirmed.

The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado touched down in Jefferson County, near the Interstate 64/265 interchange, just after midnight on April 3.

“Jeffersontown has been devastated. We have many, many buildings that have been totally destroyed,” Jeffersontown Mayor Carol Pike said. “We are lucky because no one has lost any lives or had any injury here.”

“We have a wood veneer business that has been here for many, many years that’s active every day, nobody was here, but their business has been ruined,” Greenberg emphasized, motioning to where the JSCO Wood Products Inc. once operated behind him. “Their roof is gone, their product is wood, and when the wood gets wet, it’s ruined.”

Also devastated was a daycare center neighboring JSCO.

“Just behind where we’re speaking is a childcare facility. You can see that is devastated. The roof is gone, the back wall is gone, all of the toys are thrown everywhere around the building, and we are very fortunate this happened in the middle of the night and not at noon when kids would have been in the building,” he said.

In a Thursday afternoon press conference, officials emphasized they face a unique situation as severe weather conditions are expected to persist through Sunday, April 6.

“This is a unique situation over the next several days because we’re recovering from incidents like this but we’re also preparing and responding to other weather emergencies that are gonna come over the next three to four days,” Jody Meiman, emergency management director, said.

Greenberg said damage assessments have begun, and FEMA representatives have arrived. Now, the focus shifts to preparing for what’s to come.

“Given the expectation of very significant rainfall that we expect to start soon and continue off and on in the coming days through this weekend, which puts us at the risk of very significant flooding,” he said.

As a precaution, two floodgates are being installed ahead of the expected flooding.

“The Ohio River is expected to rise over the coming days, cresting is expected between Friday and Sunday,” Greenberg said, emphasizing more information on what to expect is to come.

He urged residents to continue taking the weather event seriously, to beware of any standing water, report downed powerlines, and call 311 to report any damage. The city is working on debris drop-off and collection, but rainfall will cause delays in cleanup efforts.