KMI Factory in Kenton cleaning up after flood

KENTON, Tenn. — The KMI Factory is open Monday, but employees are cleaning rather than producing.

Employees were hard at work Monday morning, but they had to be ferried in on a truck due to the plant still being surround by six inches to almost two and a half feet of water.

“Today we are trying to get the plant cleaned up,” Plant manager Russell Neil said. “We are trying to get back full production. We’d love to be full production by the end of the week if that is at all possible. We’re probably going to lose 75 percent of inventory. Equipment-wise, I don’t think we are going to lose that much.”

This flood raised many questions for those who work at the factory, unsure whether they would be able to re-open.

Neil said the factory will stay open this time but is unsure what could happen in the future.

“If we get hit with another flood worse than this one — we had about six inches of water in the plant — but if we get probably about a foot of water in it, the owner would never be able to cover the cost,” he said.

City officials are currently working on a plan to clean up and help prevent this level of damage again.

“We’re going to have to get with the Corps of Engineers and with the state officials on these levees,” Obion County EMA Director Danny Jowers said. “Some of these levees are going to have to be rebuilt just south of town.”

Officials said they expect the water to dry out soon with the sunshine out, but those who had to evacuate their homes will probably not be able to go home for a while.