Flooding in Payne on State Road 49
Starting around May 19 rain came pouring down from the heavens. The fields were drenched and the ditches and creeks began to fill. So much so that the rivers couldn’t move the volume of water fast enough to accommodate all the rain that continued to fall. Areas around Payne to Paulding along the Flatrock Creek flooded when waters rose quickly. Residents said the flood waters began to cover State Road 49 around 4pm on Thursday when another downpour added to the deluge.
Chanz Riggenbach demonstrates why not to drive your vehicles in flooded areas on the aptly named Water Street.
Many roads in Paulding county were blocked including SR 500 and SR 49 for a time.
Danny Endicott of Payne said, “The water levels are near the 2015 levels.” as he showed us where the previous mark was on SR 49. Danny pointed out the Benton Township workers laying out sandbags to help stop the water getting too close to the houses.
The creeks in their current state struggle to handle that increasing volume. Residents stated that many of the problems could be resolved if the Flat Rock Creek was dredged out from the state line all through Payne to Paulding. Though that may leave Paulding with more flooding.
Road 47 on the east side of Payne had water up to the bridge and is completely barricaded. The water is flowing quickly and looks like the road may be eroded quickly. The rain stopped for a little while, but then continued again through out the weekend.
A common site after the week and a half of rains!
The Villages of Oakwood and Melrose in Paulding County, Ohio suffered more Flash Flooding Sunday evening, following isolated heavy rains the produced over 4 inches of rain in a short period of time. St. Roads 66 and 613 were both closed for a period of time due to the high water. A number of country and township roads were or remain closed in and around these communities. There were businesses and residential homes impacted by the high water. Basements and some first floors had water in them.
The Oakwood Volunteer Fire Department requested assistance from neighboring fire departments to help fill sandbags and place them around homes in Oakwood. Over 60 residence and firefighters helped in the effort. The Red Cross was in the Village of Oakwood helping to assist families and businesses with clean up kits.
This is the third time in 10 days that Paulding County has had Mother Nature create weather issues to communities within Paulding County. On May 18th, three separate storms with straight lines winds caused damage to structures and damage 100 power poles that caused power outages in three communities for three days. Heavy rains in three neighboring counties caused flooding on the Flatrock Creek and impacted the villages of Payne and Paulding and now Sunday and Monday’s heavy rains once again caused flash flooding in the two communities.
For any further questions or information, please contact the Paulding County Emergency Management Agency at (419)-399-3500.
