Flooding closes roads, relocates election sites

At least 10 eastern and southern Ohio counties asked the state to allow
voting sites to be moved.

FINDLAY, Ohio (AP) — Flooding from melting snow and heavy downpours led to road closures, early school dismissals and the relocation of some primary election polling sites around Ohio on Tuesday, while this flood-prone city braced for yet another visit by high water, after two bruising encounters in the previous six months.

The National Weather Service, which issued flood watches and warnings across the state, said the Blanchard River in northwest Ohio was approaching what’s considered flood level and likely to crest near Findlay early today about a half-foot above flood stage.

Sections of about a dozen low-lying roads along the river were already under water and closed by Tuesday afternoon, said Garry Valentine, director of the Hancock County Emergency Management Agency.

Though he expected no major problems, Valentine said another brush with flooding was the last thing they wanted to see in Findlay, after last August’s worst flood since 1913 and a near repeat early last month.

“The people are getting very flustered with it,” Valentine said. “It’s getting ridiculous.”

The new flood threat for Findlay was mainly due to melting snow, after a couple of days of mild temperatures, said Walter Fitzgerald, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Cleveland. In the 24-hour period ending Tuesday afternoon, the city had received less than an inch of rain, he said.

That compares with about 2 inches in Columbus and more than 21⁄4 inches in Cincinnati. Fitzgerald said that heavier rainfall was the major reason for flooding in central and southern Ohio.

Police agencies across those regions reported numerous road and lane closures because of standing water, and several districts closed schools early so children would make the trip home safely.

At least 10 eastern and southern Ohio counties with flooding problems — Jefferson, Adams, Harrison, Hocking, Perry, Pike, Athens, Vinton, Guernsey and Ross — asked the state for permission to move voting sites located near water-logged roads.

In eastern Ohio’s Belmont County, the rain triggered a small mudslide along state Route 7 south of Shadyside, said Ohio Department of Transportation spokeswoman Becky McCarty. No one was hurt.