Flood in Huron County, Ohio

Flooding continued to worsen in Huron County on June 22nd even after the heavy rains had ended. The City of Norwalk was especially hard hit as flooding from Norwalk Creek affected much of the city. Flood waters on Water and Elm Streets rose to as much as 12 feet in depth on the 22nd. Evacuations continued throughout the day as water levels climbed. Additional rainfall during the aftenoon further aggravated conditions. Water levels finally receded on the 23rd revealing the devastation the flooding caused throughout the county. Over a dozen homes in the county were classified as being destroyed with another 35 to 40 with major damage. Close to 200 homes were classified as having minor damage with another 600 to 700 sustaining damage from basement or nuisance flooding. Most of these homes were in the Norwalk area, although there were around 100 homes damaged in New London from mostly basement flooding. Seven business along Water Street in Norwalk were heavily damaged with another 20 to 25 businesses in the area sustaining lesser damages. Damages to the businesses along Water Street alone topped $1 million. At the peak of the flooding, most of streets in the southern half of Norwalk were closed with around 35 roads and highways elsewhere in the county closed. Hundreds of people had to be evacuated from their homes, many by boat. Around 600 feet of Lamereaux Road northwest of Norwalk was washed out, along with portions of Old State Road. Government clean up costs and damage to bridges, roads and culverts topped $1.5 million in Huron County. Crop losses because of flooding are estimated to be around 30 percent. At the peak of the flooding the majority of the county was under water. Local officials stated that flooding during this event was the worst since the July 4th, 1969.