Flood History
Flooding has impacted Hopkinsville for generations
In the past 100 years, there have been 18 major flood events. In 1997 alone, Hopkinsville suffered $75 million flood damages, 450 flood-damaged homes and 150 flood-damaged businesses. In 2005, the City of Hopkinsville formed the Hopkinsville Surface and Stormwater Utility to reduce the threat of flooding. Below are notable historical events that have impacted our way of life.
1979
Severe flooding throughout Western Kentucky occurred as a result of intense precipitation from two storms. The storms produced record peak discharges resulting in damages of nearly $50 million dollars.
1990
The flood of was a result of two storms that caused as much as 13.37 inches of rain at one site. The heaviest rainfall was in western Kentucky where rainfall amounts of 10 to 13 inches were common.
1997
Twelve inches of rain during a 48-hour period causes flooding in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.
2005
Severe storms dumped 9 inches of water during a six hour period. Whole neighborhoods evacuated. Water flooded major intersections and a 10-year-old girl died at Western Hills Mobile Home Park.
2010
Water did not flood a single home in Hopkinsville this weekend, officials announced Monday, though it flooded numerous yards and saturated the foundations of some houses.
2016
Heavy rain hammered the southern Pennyrile region Wednesday night into Thursday, causing major flooding issues in Christian, Trigg and Todd counties. While the area was under a flash flood warning, another severe thunderstorm rolled in Thursday afternoon and dumped even more rainfall on an already-soaked Christian, Trigg and Todd counties.
2020
The South Fork Little River at Hopkinsville in Christian County, Kentucky, reached 21.15 feet on 28 February, which is above Major Flood stage (20 feet) and the second highest crest on record.
2021
Severe weather made its way through the Commonwealth at the end of the year, causing tornadoes and flooding across the state. Hopkinsville was one of the towns hit by the devastation.