Hundreds Displaced By Flooding In Ohio

Gov. Declares State Of Emergency; Death Toll From Flooding In Midwest, Southern Plains Climbs To 22

(CBS/AP)  Firefighters and a volunteer armada navigated boats through streets awash in waist-deep water Wednesday, plucking neighbors and pets from porches as flooding that has swamped the Upper Midwest and Plains settled in Ohio.

The Buckeye State is the latest victim in a week of misery across much of the middle of the country, reports CBS News correspondent Cynthia Bowers. Fredericksburg, Texas was walloped by nearly 8 inches of rain — nearly eight times the previous record for that day. Eight and a half inches fell in Walters, Okla., 7 more than the old record, and La Crosse River in Wisconsin saw a deluge of more than 10 inches — more than tripling the previous record.

In Ohio, the water forced at least 500 people to flee their homes in several northern towns. Rising water forced authorities to move about 130 inmates at the county jail in Findlay to a regional prison.

Many neighborhood rescuers showed up with canoes and kayaks wanting to help during Findlay's worst flooding in nearly 100 years. Three men in a fishing boat ferried a mother and her 2-week-old daughter along with the family dogs.

“That was the catch of the day,” said Angel Sanchez, the baby's neighbor.

Milk jugs, garbage bags and soda cans floated in the murky water. Tom Woods took his 8-foot fishing boat to help float out friends stranded in the neighborhood.

“Once we got here, everybody asked us to rescue more people,” he said.

The Blanchard River was 7 feet above flood stage Wednesday at Findlay, the highest since a 1913 flood, and could rise another half-foot or more, the National Weather Service said.

The rain subsided by mid-afternoon, and the National Weather Service issued a heat advisory for much of the state, with temperatures expected to hit the upper 90s.

In Bucyrus, 40 miles to the southeast, nearly 9 inches of rain had fallen since Monday and at least 200 people were still out of their homes, the Crawford County Department of Emergency Management said.

“Reality is starting to set in about just how much damage there is in some of the flooded areas,” said Tim Flock, director of the agency.

Gov. Ted Strickland declared states of emergency in nine counties in northwest and north-central Ohio, including Crawford County and Findlay's Hancock County.

The death toll from two storm systems — one that has spanned the Upper Midwest and another from remnants of Tropical Storm Erin in Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri — reached 22 on Tuesday when searchers found the body of a man tangled in a tree near Lewiston, Minn.

Flooding also continued in northern Iowa as thunderstorms dumped more heavy rain across the already water-logged region Wednesday. Three subdivisions along the Des Moines River near Fort Dodge were evacuated, and crews used rocks and sandbags to shore up a levee that had begun to give way, officials said.

The river crested at 14 feet, four feet above flood stage, and began a slow fall by midafternoon to 13.2 feet, said Penny Clayton, a spokeswoman for the city. She warned of additional rain, though.

A care center was evacuated in Humboldt, Iowa, as water poured into the basement, but no one was hurt.

Thousands of homes were damaged in Wisconsin and Minnesota as the storm swept through. A preliminary survey by the American Red Cross in Minnesota identified about 4,200 affected homes, including 256 complete losses, 338 with major damage and 475 that are still inaccessible, said Kris Eide, the state's director of homeland security and emergency management.

Preliminary damage reports in Wisconsin indicate 30 homes and 25 businesses were destroyed. Another 731 homes and 32 businesses were damaged.

In Oklahoma, which recorded a gust of 82 mph and 11 inches of rain, some 300 homes and businesses were damaged in the Kingfisher area and in Caddo County in southwestern Oklahoma, officials said. According to the Oklahoma Climatological Survey, 2007 is so far the fourth-wettest on record in the state, with an average rainfall total of 31.96 inches, 8.42 inches above normal.

[octavianfdlr]

"Now if people can stop building homes in flood areas we will all be better off."
--GunOwnerDan at 05:25 PM : Aug 22, 2007

Bucyrus, mentioned in this article, sits across a major divide. The Sandusky river runs through Bucyrus and empties into Lake Erie, and thence into the Gulf of Saint Laurence. The southern part of Bucyrus drains toward the Ohio River, and thence into the Gulf of Mexico. If Bucyrus can be construed a "flood area," then so must most of the United States.

[radiob-2009]

Now if people can stop building homes in flood areas we will all be better off.
Posted by GunOwnerDan


Do you realize how many major citys are built in flood areas?

[noaanhc]

ralan40
The flooding that has occured is indeed tragic and my sympathies goes out to all thoses who have lost their homes.

I certainly do not live in any ivory tower.

I wish all in Ohio well and may you all recover from this tragic event.

[ralan40]

noaanhc, What an idiot, You get 9 inches of rain in a couple of days over a large area and flooding happens everywhere. Findlay, Ohio''s flooding is at a level last seen in 1913! Guess you aren''t the charitable sort. Really helping make America great, huh?

I guess being in an ivory tower has it''s advantages...

[jdubs63]

It was so amazing to see the people helping and giving and NOT complaining or Blaming... great people and they would make great neighbors.

[noaanhc]

So sad that this has to keep happening year after year,but until people realize this simple little fact:IF YOU DID NOT BUILD YOUR HOME ON A FLOODPLAIN IN THE FIRST PLACE THIS WOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED!!!! Why people contimue to build their homes near rivers is beyond me.Yes the view by the water is beautiful,but as we have seen again and again over the years,if you defy Mother Nature she will come back to bite you.

[hoopersports]

Some of you people need to shut up. I''m from the Findlay Ohio area and President Bush does not deserve any blame for this. Oh and believe it or not, President Bush is actually liked around here. You liberals want to blame him for anything and everything that happens around here.

[jowand]

fuzzybear9
From Fort Worth
Texas isn''t going to be annexed by Mexico, we''re not like the East Coast Lib who just roll over for every dumb idea. Teddy Kennedy might think it will be ok to give pieces of the USA to illegals and corrupt governments to the south. Maybe give Massachusets away first.
Didn''t think it would be long before the spin machine was blaming Bush for something with the floods in the midwest. Ray Nagan New Orleans Mayor turned all of their school busses into a fish hatchery under 5 feet of water after the Governor refused Federal help before Katrina hit.

[bill1fj]

The floods hit SE Minnesota Saturday night.
The people down there are still waiting for help and yet I see Bush on TV today promising to send help to Mexico.
Something very wrong here.
Disgusting

[gunownerdan]

If anything good can come from flooding, it''s the fact that valuable ancient artifacts can be washed out of the ground after thousands of years of being burried.
Now if people can stop building homes in flood areas we will all be better off.

[ttornelleoj]

Evidently, my previous post was edited, the village name is "G a y s Mills".

[ttornelleoj]

It was announced last evening that a fund has been established for victims of the *** Mills, Wisconsin flood. Donations can be mailed to: P.O. Box 38, *** Mills, WI 54631. Please make checks payable to "*** Mills Flood Assistance Fund".

Please keep these folks in your thoughts and prayers as they recover from the incredible devastation this flooding caused.