'Completely destroyed me mentally': Residents grapple with impacts from ruthless floods
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Roy "Tommy" Stucker navigated the floodwaters by boat to his West Point home in far southwest Louisville, greeted by his wife, who stood on the front patio holding his 5-year-old son Tommy — or "Little," as they call him.
Nearby crews from the Pleasure Ridge Park Fire District deployed their boat to check on the few residents who haven't left. Mother Nature has not been kind to Stucker and his neighbors the past week. The waters — waist-high in some places — will only get higher with the Ohio River set to crest in the area Wednesday, but some residents have chosen to stay and brave whatever else happens overnight.
All of them will have to contend with several more days of disruptive flooding induced by a days-long rain event that started last Wednesday.
Stucker owns two homes on the street, where he supports his wife, mother-in-law, and six children. Even as floodwaters swallowed his street, he stayed home to care for his animals, making trips out for supplies as needed.
His task Wednesday afternoon was to get a new generator and haul it back to the house.
"Everything is on my shoulders, so generator goes out, everybody looks at me," Stucker said.
'I'm just watching the water slowly eat my house'
Stucker's neighbors, Dylan Patterson and Erica Devore, also visited the street Wednesday afternoon to check on their goats. Devore, declining to take the boat ride offered up by the water crew, waded into the water as Patterson stayed back.
A tree fell on the couple's shed the night of March 30 during a strong storm that spawned a tornado in Louisville, destroying much of his prized collection of records, CDs, VHS tapes, and other retro pop culture memorabilia. Things only got worse.
Days later, on Saturday morning, the day after the couple celebrated Patterson's 30th birthday, they woke up to flooding around the house and found several of their chickens dead.
"This has completely destroyed me mentally," Patterson said. "It's absolutely horrible. Woke up first thing in the morning to rescue six goats, 25 dead chickens, just a mass grave in my backyard."
Devore left the house a few days ago to stay with family, while Patterson stayed at home to keep an eye on things. Without power, he was left cooking canned food with a candle flame and watching the water rise.
"I'm just watching the water slowly eat my house, slowly watching less of a chance to be able to leave," Patterson said. "That was what drove me crazy."
He decided to leave on Tuesday to join his wife with her family. Amid the turmoil, he'll go to work like normal Wednesday night with no firm idea of when he'll be able to go home.
"You walk off the street, everyone around you is having a normal day," he said. "I just have to try to keep my head up."
'This is just mind-boggling'
As Patterson stood by the railroad tracks parallel to Dixie Beach Road, Jeremy McKinley and his wife sat tight on a raft pulled by Pleasure Ridge Park Fire District members.
They got off the boat and took a seat on the train tracks.
After enduring the flooding for several days, McKinley and his wife, fearing for their safety, left their home. Floodwaters have crept up to knee level in their basement, he added, and they've been moving their valuables upstairs.
With the Ohio River predicted to crest at 68.2 feet at the lower portion of the McAlpine Upper Gauge on Wednesday, they plan to monitor water levels over the next few days to determine when it's safe to return home.
"I knew it was going to be bad, but this is just mind-boggling," McKinley said.
Down the street, after he situated the new generator, Stucker took a seat on a wooden swing dangling over water that had claimed his backyard as part of the Ohio River.
"That million-dollar view, it just ain't worth it sometimes," he said.
Contributing: Matthew Stone, Louisville Courier Journal
Contact reporter Killian Baarlaer at kbaarlaer@gannett.com or @bkillian72 on X.