Kentucky Flood Forces Evacuations...02/19/00

FALMOUTH, Ky. (Reuters) - Flood waters from the Licking River threatened the community of Falmouth, about 35 miles southeast of Cincinnati Saturday, bringing memories of a devastating 1997 flood, officials said.

Cincinnati also braced for potential problems from a rising Ohio River flood, where flood stage of 52 feet was predicted for 7 a.m. EST Sunday.

The Licking River flood in 1997 resulted in five deaths and destroyed 250 buildings in Falmouth.

The Licking, a northern Kentucky tributary that flows into the Ohio at Cincinnati, rose rapidly over its banks Friday night and Saturday morning after heavy rains pounded the area, officials said.

Several Falmouth families began evacuating their homes late Friday night.

``We could have up to 400 homes affected by this flooding before the Licking reaches its expected crest,'' Craig Peoples, local emergency manager, said Saturday. ``The big difference between this flood and the one three years ago is that the water came up so much faster then and caught us off guard.''

Peoples said he did not think the Falmouth business section would be flooded this time.

Rain had ceased Saturday morning in the town of about 2,500 residents.

One public shelter was opened at a middle school to receive evacuees, Peoples said. He said officials did not anticipate that many people would use it.