Tue Feb 09 2010
By LISA NICELY and JENNY DERRINGER
The waters are going down, but officials are still dealing with flooding woes.
In Putnam County, officials were out today assessing damage in Ottawa. This morning the Blanchard River at Ottawa had dropped to 24.6 feet -- below its crest of 28.72 feet on Monday. Flood stage is 23 feet.
"We are going to be doing that (damage assessment) and general assessment of what has transpired over the last few days," said Steve Odenweller, coordinator of the Putnam County Office of Public Safety. "The water is moving farther west in the county. It's going down, but we've had to close more roads as it moves west. Now we are starting the clean-up phase and helping the county and village as much as we can."
High water is still a problem on some of the roadways, many of which remain closed and posted for detours.
Some motorists, however, have not heeded the warnings.
The Putnam County Sheriff's Office has been searching for the driver of a semi that got stuck in high water at County Roads 15 and H-13, south of Miller City. The call initially came in at 12:30 a.m. that a truck was in the high water. Sheriff's officials said they are searching the water and land for the driver and declined to comment if they are fearful the missing person had drowned.
The search continues with assistance from the U.S. Coast Guard's Marblehead station and an Ohio Highway Patrol plane from Columbus.
On Tuesday, a Continental resident whose car stalled as she tried to drive through high water had to be rescued. Pamela Holland, 53, tried to drive through high water on Road H-13, north of Kalida. She was not injured.
As reported on Tuesday, an elderly man was rescued from high waters on Monday after his vehicle was swept off a county road.
"Unfortunately people don't want to follow the detours and it does get to be a problem," said Odenweller.
Roads also remained closed in Henry County.
Several roads closed because of high waters included Ohio 424 from the Defiance County line to County Road 17C and Ohio 65 between Ohio 110 and Wood County's Wapakoneta Road.
The Maumee River stage at Napoleon hit 16.7 feet on Wednesday, just .3 feet away from the major flood stage. It was down to 16.5 feet this morning. Flood stage is 12 feet.
"The river has crested so the water level is going down," Tracy Busch, director of the Henry County Emergency Management Agency, said this morning. "As the water subsides the roads will be opening. The deputies will be out assessing the roads."
For those affected by the floods, cleanup kits are being distributed at the emergency center.
Busch said EMA officials will be assessing damage from the flooding later.
"You can't do damage assessment until the river goes down," he said. "We will be going out and talking to the residents affected."
In Williams County, the Tiffin River has spilled over its banks near Stryker. The river was at 17.95 feet this morning and flooding low-lying areas only. It is the second highest historical crest. In March 1982, the river crested at 18.36 feet. Flood stage is 11 feet.
"No homes or businesses are affected," said Ron Walker, director of the Williams County EMA. "Road 191 (at Stryker) had 6-10 inches of water coming across and that's about it. The road wasn't closed. The town itself sits on higher ground. The river is out of its banks, but it's not really affecting anyone. I never got a call for sandbags or any issues in Stryker."
Walker said Williams County is luckier than other areas that are flooded.
"Pretty much by tomorrow a lot of our roads will be open and the waters will recede," he said.
Also, Ohio 49 between Edon and Edgerton was closed because of high water.
In Paulding County, Ohio 66 is still closed in Oakwood due to flooding. However, several roads have been reopened since yesterday as the waters recede. Seven township and county roads remain closed in the county this morning.
There were 10 township and county roads closed in Fulton County because of high water this morning.
"We've got another 25 roads that we have high water signs up on, but they are not closed," said Brett Kolb, EMA director for Fulton County. "They're still passable."
U.S. 20A at the viaduct east of Delta and U.S. 20 have reopened.
"It seems to be receding a little bit," said Kolb.
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