Flash Flood in Richland County, Ohio

Heavy rain producing thunderstorms affected Richland County during the late evening hours of August 20th and early morning hours of August 21st. Rainfall rates with the strongest storms exceeded three inches per hour. A trained spotter in Mansfield measured a storm total of 7.5 inches. An automated sensor at Mansfield Lahm Airport measured a total of 6.24 inches with 4.09 inches of this total falling between 2 and 8 am. A Cooperative Observer four miles east of Bellville measured a total of 4.30 inches with 4.37 inches measured by an automated gage at Malabar State Park. Runoff from this rain combined with ground already saturated from earlier rains led to catastrophic flooding across portions of Richland County. Local officials stated that the flooding in the county was some of the the worst ever! The Shelby area was especially hard hit as was the northern portion of Mansfield. In Shelby, the Black Fork of the Mohican River left it's banks and flooded most of downtown Shelby. Flood waters in some areas were as much as 8 feet deep. The Municipal Courthouse was a total loss and the Fire Department building was heavily damaged. Damage to city buildings in Shelby topped $1 million. Two schools in Shelby sustained an additional $1.5 million in damages. Dozens of people had to be rescued by boat in Shelby. Water rescue teams from surrounding areas assisted in the rescues. A Coast Guard helicopter from Detroit rescued several people from the roofs of homes. In Mansfield, flood waters heavily damaged the main Post Office on North Main Street. Water inside the building was up to 15 inches deep with flood waters in nearby parking lots as much as five feet deep. Areas surrounding the Post Office were also unindated. Around 20 people had to be rescued from a gas station at the intersection of State Route 13 and U.S. Highway 30. A 74 year old man was killed around 7 am during a fire caused by flooding. The fire was started after flooding knocked over a gas can and a water heater ignited the gas. Around 100 homes in the county were damaged enough to be declared destroyed with at least 250 homes heavily damaged. Another 1500 homes in the county sustained lesser damages. Dozens of business in the county were also damaged by the flooding. Most of these were along Main and North Gamble Streets in Shelby. Dozens of roads and streets had to be closed because of flooding. Damage to roads, bridges and culverts was extensive. Cleanup and overtime costs incurred by local government agencies was substantial. Finally, standing water and erosion from the runoff caused damage to agricultural interests in the county.

Moisture from the remnants of Tropical Storm Erin interacted with a stationary front to cause heavy rain producing thunderstorms over portions of northern Ohio. The thunderstorms trained across Wyanodot, Hancock, Crawford and Richland Counties during the early morning hours of August 21st. Catastrophic flooding occurred in all of these counties.