Storms rip through Louisville region, splitting trees and stripping buildings (2025)

THAT’S ON THE WAY. SHAQ. ALL RIGHT. THANKS FOR THAT, MO. OUR LIVE TEAM COVERAGE CONTINUES NOW AT NOON. OUR SAM CARTER AND ADDIE MEINERS, BOTH IN THE J-TOWN AREA. AND WE’RE GOING TO START OFF WITH ADDIE. SHE IS LIVE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF BECKLEY STATION ROAD, ADDIE. WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY SEEING? HEY, SHAQ. YEAH, AS YOU CAN SEE BEHIND ME, IT’S NOT GREAT. THERE’S DAMAGE ALL OVER THIS NEIGHBORHOOD. THIS NEIGHBORHOOD IS CALLED THE HILLS OF BECKLEY STATION, WHERE? OVER ON THE NORTH SIDE OF 64 IS WHERE THIS NEIGHBORHOOD IS SO CLOSE TO MIDDLETOWN. BUT YOU CAN SEE, I MEAN, THERE IS DEBRIS EVERYWHERE ALL OVER THIS NEIGHBORHOOD. IT LOOKS LIKE THIS. THESE COUPLE HOUSES RIGHT HERE WERE SOME OF THE WORST THAT WERE DAMAGED. BUT THERE’S LOTS OF ROOFERS OUT HERE. NEIGHBORS HAVE BEEN OUT TRYING TO HELP EACH OTHER PICK THINGS UP. I ACTUALLY WANT TO GO OVER TO WLKY NEWS CHOPPER. THEY DID FLY OVER THIS NEIGHBORHOOD EARLIER. AND I MEAN YOU CAN SEE INSIDE OF PEOPLE’S HOUSES THEIR ROOFS COMPLETELY RIPPED OFF. AND SOME PEOPLE ARE EVEN ON SPRING BREAK. BUT THE MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN THESE HOUSES TELL US THAT THEY WERE HERE LAST NIGHT. THEY DESCRIBED IT AS WHAT MOST PEOPLE DESCRIBE. TORNADOES SOUND LIKE. IT’S LIKE A FREIGHT TRAIN COMES THROUGH A BIG GUST OF WIND, AND THEN IT’S QUIET AND RIPPING OFF THESE, THESE ROOFS THAT THE PEOPLE, THEY DESCRIBED IT TO ME, THEY SAID THAT IT WAS JUST A LOUD THUD IS WHAT THEY HEARD AFTER THAT BIG RUSH OF WIND. SO NOW NEIGHBORS ARE OUT AND THEY’RE HELPING EACH OTHER CLEAN UP THIS MESS. SHAQ. SO IT’S GOING TO TAKE SOME TIME. AND WITH MORE RAIN COMING, THEY’RE WORRIED ABOUT GETTING TARPS ON THEIR ROOFS. YEAH. ADDIE TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE. THANK YOU SO MUCH. ALL RIGHT. WE’RE ALSO SEEING SOME DAMAGE OVER ON CAMPUS PLACE IN J-TOWN. WE’RE GOING TO CHECK IN NOW WITH OUR SAM CARTER, WHO’S LIVE IN THE AREA. AND HE ACTUALLY JUST SPOKE TO J. TOWNS, MAYOR SAM, WHAT’S IT LOOKING LIKE OVER THERE? AND WHAT DID YOU HEAR? YOU KNOW, SHAQ, AS THE SUN COMES UP, YOU DO GET A BETTER SENSE OF THE DEVASTATION THAT THIS SEVERE WEATHER WROUGHT YESTERDAY. LET ME STEP OUT HERE, AND WE ARE GOING TO GO FOR A LITTLE BIT OF A WALK. I WANT YOU TO SEE THIS. THIS IS AN OFFICE PARK ON CAMPUS PLACE THAT WAS, FOR THE MOST PART DESTROYED IN LAST NIGHT’S STORM. BUT I REALLY WANT TO DRAW YOUR ATTENTION IN TO HERE. THIS USED TO BE CREATIVE KINGDOM. IT WAS A CHILD’S DAYCARE. AND REALLY, A PICTURE TELLS A THOUSAND WORDS. I MEAN, THIS REALLY IS THE SUMMATION OF WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN THIS AREA. JUST COMPLETE DEVASTATION. NOW, EARLIER THIS MORNING I GOT A CHANCE TO CATCH UP WITH J. JEFFERSONTOWN MAYOR CAROL PIKE, WHO SAYS THAT THE CITY OF LOUISVILLE IS STEPPING IN TO HELP WHEN IT’S MOST NEEDED. TO HELP WITH THEIR PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT. IF WE’RE SHORT, THEY HAVE OFFERED THAT THEY ARE OFFERING ALSO TO HELP FILE THE FEDERAL PAPERWORK. MAYOR GREENBERG, THE WAY I UNDERSTAND IT, HAS FILED FOR FEDERAL PAPERWORK FOR US, FOR FEMA IN WASHINGTON. AND, YOU KNOW, I NEED HELP. YEAH, YEAH, THE CITY OF J TOWN TODAY DOES NEED HELP. DEVASTATION BROUGHT BY THIS STORM. NOW, SHE ALSO MENTIONED THAT REALLY THEIR MAIN PRIORITY RIGHT NOW IS GETTING DOWNED POWER LINES SHUT DOWN AND CLEARED OUT OF ROADS BECAUSE UNTIL THEY CAN DO THAT, THEY CAN’T GET A FULL ASSESSMENT OF THE DAMAGE. MAYOR GREENBERG IS EXPECTED TO BE PRETTY MUCH RIGHT WHERE I’M STANDING NOW IN JUST ABOUT 25 MINUTES. WE’LL BE CARRYING THAT ON AIR. WE’LL SEE YOU AT AROUND 1230. ALL RIGHT. THANKS FOR THAT, SAM. AND WITH THOSE STORMS AND MORE RAIN ON THE WAY, LIKE WE JUST TOLD YOU NOT TOO LONG AGO, LOUISVILLE’S MAYOR HAS DECLARED A STATE OF EMERGENCY. NOW, AGENCIES THROUGHOUT THE METRO ARE ALSO PREPARING FOR FLOODING AS THIS STORM SYSTEM MOVES THROUGH. THIS MORNING, MSD CREWS WERE INSTALLING FLOOD WALLS AT 10TH AND 27TH STREETS. NOW, WHILE OFFICIALS SAY THEY’RE NOT EXPECTING FLOODING TO BE AS BAD AS HOW IT WAS BACK IN FEBRUARY, THE FLOOD WALLS ARE PRECAUTION AND THE MAYOR SAYS THE STATE OF EMERGENCY DECLARATION WILL HELP PEOPLE RECOVER QUICKLY FROM ANY DAMAGE. I HAVE SIGNED A DECLARATION OF A STATE OF EMERGENCY FOR ALL OF JEFFERSON COUNTY TO HELP THOSE WHO HAVE SUSTAINED DAMAGE FROM LAST NIGHT’S STORM AND IN THE COMING DAYS, THAT MAY SUSTAIN DAMAGE FROM FLOODING TO HELP THEM AS THEY GET BACK ON TRACK. NOW, AS A REMINDER, IF YOU SEE STANDING WATER, IT IS BEST TO AVOID IT NOW TO GET EMERGENCY ALERTS FROM LOUISVILLE METRO SAFE, JUST TEXT LENS ALERT TO 67283 AND OUR CREWS AND VIEWERS CAPTURED VIDEO OF THE DAMAGE THROUGHOUT THE AREA. TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR SCREEN. THIS IS AT THE STABLES ON OLD ENGLISH STATION ROAD. NOW THAT’S IN THE AREA OF 64 AND 265, IN EASTERN JEFFERSON COUNTY. YOU CAN SEE SOME SIDING RIPPED OFF OF THE BUILDING JUST NOW, AND SOME OTHER DEBRIS TOSSED AROUND. NOW WE’RE ALSO GETTING REPORTS OF BROKEN WINDOWS IN THAT AREA. AND THIS IS FROM A VIEWER IN BULLITT COUNTY. YOU SEE, THAT TREE APPEARS TO HAVE FALLEN ON A POLICE CRUISER ALONG DIXIE HIGHWAY NEAR SHEPHERDSVILLE. NO WORD RIGHT NOW. ON IF THAT OFFICER WAS INJURED AND LOTS OF DAMAGE TO A CHICK-FIL-A ON PLANT SIDE DRIVE NEAR BLANKENBAKER. A LARGE PIECE OF THE ROOF AND SIDEWALL ARE COMPLETELY GONE. BRICKS SCATTERED THROUGHOUT THE PARKING LOT A