Flash Flood in Ohio, March 4, 1997

Showers and thunderstorms dumped 4 to 9 inches of rain across southeast Ohio from the predawn hours of Saturday, the 1st, through the morning hours of Monday, the 3rd. The heaviest rain rates were on Saturday and Saturday night, with a lull in the rain during Sunday, the 2nd. The early Saturday downpours were concentrated across the extreme south, lifting north, into the Hocking and lower Muskingum Valleys late Saturday. The early Monday rains, contributed little to the overall damage, but kept some of the larger streams out of their banks. The full spectrum of flooding occurred. The worst effects were over Lawrence and Jackson Counties. The least damage was over Perry and Morgan Counties. Lawrence, Gallia, Jackson, Vinton, Meigs, Washington, Athens, and Morgan Counties were all declared a federal disaster by President Clinton. Only one death occurred in southeast Ohio. An elderly man died Sunday night after driving his vehicle into high water along Route 7, near Eureka of Gallia County. No significant injuries were reported. On the order of 2,800 residents received individual assistance from FEMA, over 1,000 of which, were from Lawrence County alone. Jackson County had nearly 600 citizens get federal assistance. Throughout southeast Ohio, around 700 homes received major damage or were destroyed, by either the small stream or the river flooding. Of the 700, around 600 were from Lawrence, Jackson, Gallia, and Meigs Counties. The majority of the homes affected were low income dwellings. Many small private bridges were damaged or destroyed. Secondary roads were undermined by flooding streams. The first flooding was from small feeder streams across Lawrence County early Saturday morning. However, it was the larger streams that eventually did more damage. Residents of Aid along Symmes Creek reported the water covering the valley from hillside to hillside. Dozens were evacuated early Sunday around Aid and Arabia. Residents ran low on supplies, as access roads remained flooded into Monday and Tuesday, the 3rd and 4th. In Jackson County, Little Salt and Horse Creeks pushed 1 to 3 feet of water into homes in the city of Jackson, after midnight on that Sunday morning, the 2nd. The sewer plant, an auto parts store, and a major industry were damaged in Jackson. Pigeon Creek flooded homes in the Byer vicinity.In Vinton County, Pigeon Creek and Middle Fork flooded homes. Two teenagers were rescued by boat, about 3 miles east of McArthur along Route 50. They had driven their van into the rising water of Elk Fork. The time was after midnight, on Sunday morning the 2nd. After escaping the vehicle, they held onto a broken telephone pole for about 3 hours, before being rescued. The Radcliff area of Vinton Township of Vinton County was flooded by Racoon Creek. In Athens County, the worst flooding appeared along Sunday, Sugar, and Federal Creeks affecting communities such as Chauncey and Amesville. A mobile home along Sugar Creek was carried several hundred feet. A babysitter and 4 children were rescued from the mobile home. In Amesville, 2 dozen homes and every business received some degree of flooding. Later, the Hocking River crested 2 to 3 feet above flood stage on Monday, the 3rd.In Gallia County, Racoon Creek reached record heights on the 2nd, and continued to cause flooding on the 3rd and 4th. The town of Vinton was hard hit by the flooding along Racoon Creek. Some 50 to 60 homes were evacuated. The general store was damaged. Further downstream, the crest at Adamsville was 29 feet. Chickamauga Creek flooded areas in and near Gallipolis. In Meigs County, Leading Creek damaged about 15 homes in Langsville. Little Leading Creek caused damage around Rutland. The Shade River flooded Chester. In Morgan County, county officials reported no homes were flooded. The damage was mainly to water and sewer lines around the Stockport region of Windsor Township. In Washington County, Duck Creek put 6 feet of water into the village building at Lower Salem. Rainbow and Wolf Creeks also caused damage. The Ohio River rose rapidly on the 2nd, at about a half foot per hour. The Pomeroy mayor said, "about as fast as I've ever seen". Upriver of the Hocking and Little Kanawha Rivers, the crest on the Ohio River did not caused major problems. The crest at Marietta was below flood stage. The crest reached 1 to 2 feet above flood stage around Belpre, increasing in magnitude downriver. The crest was 4 to 8 feet above flood stage in the Pomeroy, Gallipolis, Proctorville, and Ironton reach of the river. The crest did not reach Ironton until the predawn hours on the 5th. Specific crests were 50.9 feet at Pomeroy, and 55 feet at the lock and dam near Gallipolis. Water was 1 to 3 feet deep on the ground floor of most businesses along Pomeroy's Main Street. The last time the water was higher at Pomeroy was late February in 1979. The village of Proctorville received heavy damage from the Ohio River. Water was about 3 to 4 feet deep in many businesses in that Lawrence County river town. Damage was less in Chesapeake. Main Street of Coal Grove was flooded.