OTTAWA COUNTY, OH (WTOL) - The Ottawa County Commissioners have declared a State of Emergency for all of Ottawa County on due to flooding on Wednesday.
The major areas affected are the City of Port Clinton and the Village of Oak Harbor.
Citizens should use extreme caution and limit travel if possible.
Port Clinton mayor, Hugh Wheeler Jr., had earlier declared a State of Emergency for the city and has a long list of road closures.
You can see the closures in the statement released by the county below:
One Port Clinton resident said his whole basement was destroyed in the flooding. He said there was 27 inches of rain and his furniture was floating in the water.
The man's neighbor said he was also dealing with flooding, and hasn't seen anything like this in his 55 years of living in Port Clinton. He said he watched a neighbor drive into the water in the street this morning, destroying their new car.
Some residents were prepared for the flooding, but others weren't so lucky.
"I had four sump pumps going and that kept up with it, but it came up through my washer so I was down there with a mop mopping it up this morning," said Port Clinton resident Jim Zura.
Roads and the government buildings in Ottawa County are closed Wednesday morning due to flooding.
An Areal Flood Advisory has been issued for the cities of Catawba Island, Danbury, Oak Harbor and Port Clinton until 3 p.m.
An Areal Flood Advisory means the flooding develops more gradually.
The government buildings, including the courthouse, will be closed until noon. The closures do not affect the actions of the villages, as they only affect the county government buildings.
Magruder Hospital also says the main lobby, gift shop, HR and radiology portions of the hospital have all been affected by flooding and are closed to patients, visitors and employees.
No patient care areas were affected.
Police say the flooding affects roads from Oak Harbor to Port Clinton.
State Route 19, or Locust Street, Main Street and Church Street are closed.
Perry Street in Port Clinton is also closed between Ash and Maple Street.
Police say there is 2 to 4 feet of standing water on the roadways.
Oak Harbor mayor Joe Helle advises residents to avoid the water for more reasons than one.
"Here in town, one of the biggest dangers is that we have a combined sewer, which means that there's going to be sewage in this water as well, Keep your kids and your youngsters out of it. If you have to go through it or you're in your basement, make sure once you're done you're rinsing your body off well and you're taking a shower with soap. Make sure you're washing some of that off. It can lead to rashes and other things," Mayor Helle said.
Three inches of rain have fallen in the area as of 2:30 a.m.
Little to no additional rainfall is expected Wednesday morning.
