NASHVILLE, Tenn. (April 18, 2019) – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District is performing structure surveys in Bell County, Kentucky during the spring and summer of 2019 to identify homes and businesses that are vulnerable to a recurrence of the destructive April 1977 flood, the most severe flood in the region in the last six decades.
Surveyors are recognizable by Corps of Engineers safety vests and identification. Surveys include photographs and elevation shots of structures along portions of the Cumberland River, Left Creek, Straight Creek, and Yellow Creek. Access to private property requires permission of landowners.
The surveys are part of the Corps’ development of the Bell County Flood Damage Reduction Study, as authorized by Section 202 of the Energy and Water Development Act of 1981 (PL 96-367). This study is an investigation of alternatives to reduce flood damages to structures along impacted portions of the Cumberland River and its tributaries.
Once completed, the study identifies structures located in the floodplain at risk of significant structural or content damages in a recurrence of the April 1977 flood levels. Residents of identified structures are eligible for either flood proofing of structures or evacuation of properties to support demolition and removal of flood prone structures. The local sponsor, Bell County, would maintain ownership of all acquired properties.
All structure acquisition and flood proofing is voluntary. The timeline to acquire or flood proof these structures is dependent on federal, state, and local funding.
For more information about the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District, visit the district’s website at www.lrn.usace.army.mil, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/nashvillecorps, and on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/nashvillecorps.
Release no. 19-019