Jeffersonville church flooded last week; community bracing for more weather

Linville Spangler, pastor at Jeffersonville Baptist Church on Hwy. 599, was bracing for another round of storms this afternoon after the church flooded last Friday.

"We're praying it doesn't do that again today," Spangler told the Advocate Tuesday morning.

Emergency Management Director Greg Beam told the Advocate the pop-up storm Friday produced about four inches of rain in a half hour isolated to Jeffersonville.

At the same time, the northern end of the county remained dry, Beam said.

"I've never seen that much water standing," he said. "It went down as fast as it came up."

With that in mind, Beam said the county road dept. did not have time to place road closure signs in areas that temporarily flooded.

Friday's storm flooded the sanctuary and forced Sunday services to be moved to the fellowship hall at Jeffersonville Baptist, which has a concrete floor and could be cleaned up more easily, Spangler said.

This week, the church had about 10 to 12 blowers and two or three dehumidifiers drying out the carpet in the sanctuary, he said.

Barring more flash flooding this afternoon, Spangler was hopeful services this upcoming Sunday could be held in the sanctuary.

Spangler said every time the community gets a heavy rain in a short period of time, the church floods because the drain around the church can't handle the surface water, which backs up in the church.

A storm in 2019 resulted in water in the sanctuary and damaged the carpet and pews, he said.

Beam said Friday's storm also resulted in flash flooding at Sulfur Hill Field and along Camargo-Levee Road and U.S. 460 at Old Salem, among other areas.

County Road Dept. Supervisor Mark Walters said hay bales could be seen floating down Slate Creek in Jeffersonville after Friday's storm.

Beam said a similar pop-up storm caused some flash flooding in Camargo Saturday.

Another storm is expected to come through between 3 and 5 p.m. today, according to the National Weather Service.

It is expected to produce high winds with gusts reaching up to 75 miles per hour, Beam said.

Beam said there is also be an enhanced chance of a tornado.