Friday’s flood waters methodically progressed across valley farm fields north of West Liberty and into the village, residents say, noting there was little they could do to save anything in their basements from water damage.
Kyle Gilmor with the Dayton branch of Servicemaster steam cleans part of Grace Chapel’s basement on Monday. (EXAMINER PHOTO | JOEL E. MAST)
“I woke up,” said Linden Street resident Mary Headley, “and looked out my windows.
Everything looked white like it had snowed. I thought to myself, ‘It can’t be snow.’”
As her eyes adjusted to the early morning light, she realized the neighborhood was being enveloped in water.
Flood waters were flowing west around her ranch-style home and rising. Soon it looked as if Mad River had found a new path through the village.
In her basement, a trickle of water had started to come into her basement and she tried to use a wet/dry vacuum to collect water. The flow was too much and she gave up as the water level began to cover her ankles.
Soon there was 30 inches of water in her basement.
A few blocks over, Jill McKelvey said she was up and looking north from her Leonard Street home.
Water was building up in the neighboring lawns and running down McClellen Street across the west side of her lot. Flood levels kept rising and rising, eventually cresting a swale north of the 1946-era home.
Water then began to flow into the home.
McKelvey soon became entrapped as McClellen was engulfed in three feet of water.
Water levels in her basement soon hit four feet.
She was helpless to stop the water, and now, like her neighbors, she is working on drying out.
Monday afternoon, a pile of furnishings and damaged household goods sat at the end of her drive. Water continued to flow out of the sump pump exhaust tube.
At one point there were seven pumps running, and she estimated 40,000 gallons of water were removed from the basement.
The water level outside basement entry doors is seen Saturday on the Mad River side of Grace Chapel in West Liberty.
Read complete story in Tuesday’s Examiner.
CLICK HERE to subscribe today!
WEB EDITION STARTING AT $9.50 FOR 5 WEEKS!