Crews begin setting up floodwalls in downtown Evansville
EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WFIE) - City officials are being proactive ahead of potential flooding in downtown Evansville.
Crews were out Wednesday morning setting up floodwalls and installing sections near the riverfront.
Michael Herke, superintendent for the Evansville Levee Authority, tells us they are trying to get the walls up as soon as possible so they are prepared for flooding.
“It’s very important, because you know, the river is very unpredictable and with the rain that is coming, you could have some surges with the height of the river,” he explains. “You don’t want to be running behind on having everything closed off that needs to be closed off.”
Herke says this is just the start of installation, and they will finish setting up the walls soon.
Meanwhile, crowds of people flocked to the riverfront to get a look at the historic flooding.
“It is a spectacle,” said Mitch Withrow, who has come to see the river several times over the past week. “People take pictures and kind of just gawk.”
“I honestly expected a lot of water, and I got a lot of water,” said Clay Roth, who was checking out the water.
Wednesday evening, the river hit 46.4 feet. It’s expected to crest Friday night into Saturday morning at 48 feet.
“I’ve never seen the water this high before in my life,” Roth said. “I’m hoping that it doesn’t reach that [flood] level because that might mean some bad destruction headed our way.”
Roth says this is history, and wanted to check it out for himself. Others, like Withrow have been comparing the river levels over the course of days to see how it’s changing.
“They have riprap along the ground here, and it was probably two feet below the top of that. Who knows how high it is now,” Withrow said.
Riverfront staples are changing with the water levels. Dress Plaza is now completely underwater. What appears to be a tree has washed up in front of the Four Freedoms Monument. Barges going through the water, now as high as some trees.
Tom Rountree is interested in seeing the effects on other landmarks.
“I always like walking down and looking at that marker down the way,” Rountree said, speaking of the marker that shows the highest flooding events in Evansville. “That’s where I’m headed. Then down by the LST and see how high that is.”
“It is pretty amazing,” Withrow said. “A pretty amazing sight to see all this water.”
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