Bracing for new flooding

VILLAGE OF OTTAWA (AP) - Volunteers stacked sandbags in front of homes and downtown storefronts as residents braced for more flooding in waterlogged northwest Ohio.

Storms dumped more rain on Tuesday, but there was a little relief that some of the heavy rains moved north from the flood zone.

"We feel a little bit better," said Josh Walters, assistant director of Putnam County's Emergency Management Agency.

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Still, residents and emergency workers remained wary as the Blanchard River was near spilling over its banks again and threatened more flooding in low-lying areas across northwest Ohio's flat farmlands.

By midday Tuesday, Findlay Mayor Pete Sehnert said the Blanchard was 8-feet below what was reported Monday. The high river water was staying within its banks and traffic was flowing freely through the Flag City's downtown district.

Mayor Sehnert spoke with the National Weather Service and both believe the bulk of the second line of storms should track north into Wood and Lucas counties and miss Hancock County and Findlay. The mayor, though, said his staff and the city's residents should be prepared for the worst if the storm tracks more to the south as flood waters should rise once again.

"The problem is, is that we're afraid that with the rains due in here this evening and afternoon that this is going to go up," said Garry Valentine, Hancock County EMA Director. "Everything is soaked and loaded with water, so everything that falls, is going to run off."

Emergency workers estimate the flooding has forced about 50 people from their homes in Ottawa, 50 miles south of Toledo, and surrounding Putnam County.

The river in Ottawa crested at 28.6 feet -- five feet above flood stage -- late Monday night, making it the sixth-worst flood in the village's history.

In nearby Findlay, floodwaters receded on Tuesday, allowing many streets to reopen after part of the downtown and surrounding neighborhoods were swamped a day earlier.

The Blanchard River, which cuts through downtown, was expected to rise again on Wednesday.

The National Weather Service predicted the river would crest at 12.3 feet -- just above flood stage -- by Wednesday night, but Findlay officials said they were preparing for a higher level.

This was the third major flood for both communities in less than two years.

Workers piled sandbags on trailers and distributed them in neighborhoods to homeowners in Ottawa.

Football players from the University of Findlay and inmates from the Hancock County jail all pitched in to fill sandbags.

North Main and Western in Findlay were open Tuesday after being shut down due to rising flood waters late Sunday and Monday.

"We're tired of it, and we've talked about leaving Findlay," said Jodi Christner, a Findlay flood victim who moved into her Western home back in February.

Many boxes and sentimental pictures were lost in Monday's flooding rains after water accumulated.

"I woke up in the morning and saw that the basement was flooded," she said. "I came down and saw water. I just started crying because we had moved away from being flooded so much."

Christner used to live on Howard, which was flooded out on Monday. Now she's cleaning up, spending at least $1,000 to do it.

The worst might be on the way.

"We're about six feet lower than what we were yesterday at this time, and we're very pleased to see the river where it is," Valentine said.

Though positive words, Hancock County's EMA director admits that the Blanchard is in a vulnerable state right now, especially if more rain is on the way.

"I haven't seen water like this like I have in the past three or four years," Valentine added. "Water is going to areas it has never been before, and people it never hit before."

Elsewhere, Michigan rivers were rising over their banks, and the Mississippi River was expected to crest 5 to 6 feet above flood stage later this week at several Missouri towns north of St. Louis.

The Huron River rose above flood stage in Livingston County's Hamburg Township, in Southeast Michigan, about 35 miles west of Detroit, WHMI-FM reported. Forecasters say the river could crest at a foot over flood stage Thursday, putting parts of some homes under water.

Flooding was reported on the Cass River downstream from Frankenmuth and the National Weather Service issued flood warnings for much of the Lower Peninsula because of recent and expected heavy rain.

Lake Huron ice slabs, driven by high winds, smashed through windows of 36 homes in Bay County's Kawkawlin Township on Sunday night, forcing evacuations.

"Once we saw the first two piles of ice coming over the seawall, we just ran," resident Steve Hughes told The Bay City Times as he returned Monday to view the damage. "I just remember hearing the kitchen window explode and the kitchen table getting thrown back."

A late-winter storm was expected to deposit seven to 11 inches on parts of the Upper Peninsula through