HOPKINSVILLE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – Employees and inmates on work release stacked 1,500 sandbags around the Christian County Jail to protect the hundreds of people inside the faculty and prevent an emergency evacuation as floodwater quickly approached.
Located in the heart of downtown Hopkinsville in close proximity to the Little River, excessive rainfall and storms put over 500 inmates at risk of evacuation on Friday as the area was hit with 13 inches of rain. Jailer Adam Smith told Christian County Now that their main concern was not that the facility would flood, but that they would be landlocked and would not be reachable by emergency rescue. The area has since completely drained of all floodwaters.
“It would have been a massive undertaking to move 600 inmates safely,” said Smith, who was thankful they did not have to result to an evacuation, although they had a plan in place to do so if necessary. “We knew where everybody was going to go, I had partner jails that were willing to take our inmates and had transportation figured out.”
Despite extremely high water, none entered the main part of the jail. Their storage area with lawn equipment did receive water, which was able to be pumped out. This is not the first time the facility had been susceptible to floodwaters, with highwater coming into downtown back in 1997. Information from a previous jailer was vital in helping crews know the best placement for incoming sandbags to prevent water from coming in.
“We probably had 15 or 20 inmates that were actively filling sandbags,” said Smith. When it was evident that the water levels were going to reach dangerous heights, Smith quickly coordinated to get the necessary materials, driving several hours away to retrieve sandbags and coordinate an entire day of setting them up.
He added that if an evacuation had occurred, information would have been released to the public so family and loved ones could stay informed. During the risk of flooding, information was not release for security reasons.
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