Simpson County experiences area flooding for second time in 2025

SIMPSON COUNTY, Ky. — Simpson County faced another round of flooding as heavy rain swept through the region for the second time in 2025, prompting evacuations for many.

While the damage wasn’t as severe as the devastating floods in February, the waters still displaced individuals and left some areas submerged across the county.

Terry Brown, a local resident who had been through February’s floods, knew exactly what she and her husband needed to do ahead of the rainy days.

“We went ahead and packed bags and we left before the water got this high. So we were gone Sunday,” she said. “We’ve never really been through this except for back in February, and that was such a shock.” Brown’s early evacuation kept her and her husband safe from the rising waters that eventually impacted parts of the county.

Robert Palmer, director of the Simpson County Office of Emergency Management, had been closely monitoring the situation. The National Weather Service’s early communication gave officials a chance to prepare.

“We really expected it to be worse than February. We got with the people that were impacted, asked them to move their dumpsters and portable storage units out of the flood zone, because we didn’t want all those to turn into boats floating around down there.” Palmer said.

Despite the extensive precautions, flooding still affected homes, especially around the Patton Road area, which already was hit hard earlier this year.

Palmer said, “The amount of rain we did get over the period of time filled the cave system up. Morgantown Road is still passable, but I don’t know how long it’s going to remain passable.”

Simpson County judge executive Mason Barnes, amidst the preparation and all the accumulated rain, was impressed by the local response.

“I think the response from the community has been fantastic. People stayed home, got prepared, paid attention, and took the threat seriously,” Barnes said. He highlighted how different things were compared to the February floods, where there were numerous rescues due to people ignoring barricades and driving through floodwaters.

“In February, we had upwards of 10 to 12 water rescues where people drove around barricades into the standing water. Today, to date, I know of one in Simpson County, and that was sometime yesterday or this morning,” Barnes said.

While the floods were not as impactful as in February, Simpson County still faced challenges with the floodwaters, displacing several individuals. As the situation continues to unfold, officials and residents remain focused on the recovery of the recent floods and preparations into how the state or federal response will be to the Simpson County floods specifically.