ATHENS COUNTY, Ohio — According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the Hocking River swelled nearly 15 feet in 48 hours after heavy storms triggered flash flooding across the county starting late Sunday night.
Teresa Fouts-Imler, director of the Athens County Emergency Management Agency, told the Independent that first responders conducted several rescues across the county.
“We’ve had vehicles stuck in waterways,” Fouts-Imler said Monday afternoon. “We know the water is rising, and we are expecting it to continue to rise, cresting sometime early morning hours after midnight. We’ve had multiple rescues reported in the county.”
Fouts-Imler stressed that members of the public shouldn’t drive through flooded roads.
“Turn around, don’t drown,” she said.
In Athens, Richland Avenue flooded late Sunday night and early Monday morning. The road reopened Monday morning, Andy Stone, the city’s service-safety director, told the Independent.
It’s unknown how the intense rainfall will affect various construction projects around the city.
“[The rainfall] certainly doesn’t help, right?” Stone said. “There’s the station that’s getting built right there at the northeast corner of the Richland and 682 intersection. That’s a big project that’s [been] going on for a long time, and a lot of water doesn’t help things.”
Trimble Mayor Doug Davis told the Independent that several residents are still recovering from August flooding, which flooded inside and around several homes.
“[One person] had it in their house about a foot and a half deep,” Davis said.
Glouster Mayor Nathon Simons expressed frustration at the continuous state of flooding in the area.
“It seems like once we get everything kind of taken care of and cleaned up, we get hit again,” Simons said. “It’s like we just finally got the park all straightened out from August issues and or August flooding, and now we might be doing that again.”
Simons told the Independent that Glouster didn’t suffer much damage and the rain and floodwaters should clear up soon.
Chauncey Mayor Frank Campbell told the Independent Monday morning that he did not know of any damages to homes in the village.
“All of the streets and Chauncey are open,” Campbell later added via text message. “There is some flooding in yards and parking lots but nothing major.”
Amesville Mayor Mike Ford said in an email Monday that roads in and out of the village were closed as of around noon that day.
Ford said a new restaurant in the village, Amesville Diner & Smokehouse, is “located in the area most prone to flooding,” and took on a couple inches of water in its lower level. However, the main restaurant space is fine.
“Thankfully, we were able to move everything in the affected area out of the way before anything got too wet, and the water is receding pretty quickly,” Ford said in an email. “We’ll have some cleanup to do, but nothing major.”
The Ames-Bern Volunteer Fire Department has been redirecting traffic and “rescuing folks who attempt to drive through the standing water and get stuck,” Ford said in an email.
“We currently have five people, a dog, and a chicken sheltering at the fire station while we wait for the water to go down enough to send them on their way,” Ford said. “The villagers have responded by making lunch for them, including chili donated by the restaurant, so in our typical Amesville way we’re making the best of it.”
Ford added that Amesville is “pretty used to this, so we plan ahead and look out for one another.”
“While we recommend staying home until the water goes away, if you have to get stuck, Amesville is a great place for it,” he said.
Athens County Engineer Jeff Maiden told the Independent that he has staff out working on the roads since 2 a.m. Monday morning.
“We’ve had some big four foot diameter trees on some different roads, we’re basically just in recovery mode trying to get the roads clear,” Maiden said.
Maiden said that his staff had to move bridge-building equipment on Harner Road to keep it from getting caught in the flood. The county engineer’s office has also received reports of a landslide on New England Road (CR 48).
A Facebook post in a neighborhood group for Albany showed what seemed to be a large sinkhole off Meadowbrook Road on Monday.
The Athens County Emergency Management Agency shared the following list of flooded roads:
- Glen Ebon Road
- Hawk Road/Fox Lake Road
- Old U.S. 33/Scenic Lane
- Blackwood Road
- Glazier Road
- Rock Run Road
- McGraw Road
- West Kasler Creek Road
- Kuhns Road
- Spice Lick Road
- Matheny Road
- SR 681 between Setty and Wood Road
- SR 690 area of Mush Run Road
- Pettit Road
- Harmony Road
- SR 682 Chauncey
- SR 329 southbound Stewart
- SR 56 westbound
- SR 681 westbound
- SR northbound Stewart
- Oakdale Road
- SR 144 southbound
- SR 329/SR 550
The Athens County Engineer shared the following list of roads which have had trees removed or culverts damaged:
Trees Removed
- New England Road (CR 48)
- Long Run Road and Rock Riffle Road (CR 25)
- Four Mile Creed Road (CR 59)
- Frost Road (CR 58)
- Wood Road (CR 15)
- Diamond Brick Road (CR 33B)
- Old SR 33 CR 33A
- Blackwood Road (CR 46) Fossil Rock Road (CR 42)
Culvert Washouts/Plugged up Culverts
- Fisher Road (CR 17)
- Deep Hollow Road (CR 64)
- Hebbardsville Road (CR 19)
- Baker Road (CR 10)
- Old SR 3 (CR 33A)
