BY DANA DIFILIPPO
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Heavy rains and fierce storms flooded eastern Ohio on Sunday, forced people into shelters, knocked out power in the city of Marietta and killed at least four people.
At least three people were missing.
Gov. George Voinovich put 16 counties under emergency declarations, primarily in eastern and southeastern Ohio. The declaration authorizes state agencies to help the damaged communities.
Up to 10 inches of rain was reported in parts of eastern Ohio early Saturday. Another 6-8 inches fell on the region late Saturday and early Sunday, and a similar front was expected to pass through Sunday, the National Weather Service said.
The National Guard helped police in Lower Salem in Washington County to rescue at least six people Sunday who had been forced to their roofs, said Deputy Steve Lynch of the Washington County Sheriff's Department.
The rural area was virtually cut off by rising waters.
"It's getting deeper and deeper as the day goes on," Deputy Lynch said. "I expect that we already have 10 to 15 feet of water. We're going to have to work with the National Guard to get those people out of there."
In nearby Marietta, crews spent Sunday trying to restore power. A storm that rolled through the town Saturday night littered streets and yards with tree limbs that also knocked down power lines.
The power outage proved especially problematic for people like Edward Neville, 75, who needs electricity for his daily dialysis.
"They're saying we might not get electric for another day or so,," said his wife, Jeanette Neville, 71. "We've been without a phone and electricity since 8:30 (Saturday night). I might have to take him to the hospital."
When the storms started Saturday night, Eva Schunn, 33, her husband and their two children huddled in their basement for safety, fearing the storms would spawn tornadoes.
Instead, their basement flooded, so they spent several hours perched on the basement stairs.
Although the governor's office asked residents to stay off the roads except for emergencies, a steady stream of cars was cruising past Mrs. Schunn's Second Street home as she tried to clean up the tree limbs in her yard.
"All these people are just driving by with video cameras and cameras and not helping," Mrs. Schunn said. "I'm getting to the point where I want to start throwing tree limbs at cars and shouting, "You want some of this?' "
Authorities closed parts of Interstate 77 and Ohio 33 and Ohio 60 in Washington County because of high water, clogging neighboring gas stations with frustrated drivers looking for alternate routes. Westbound lanes of Interstate 70 in Ohio were shut down for an 8-mile stretch between New Concord and Cambridge.
"My wife is going to trade off the car and get us a boat," said Leslie Southers, 42, of Randleman, N.C., who was detoured three times on his way to Cleveland.
Deaths in Fairfield, Noble and Washington counties have been attributed to the storms, and one person was missing in Meigs County and at least two were missing in Noble County.
One man died of electrocution when he left his car, which had become entangled in downed power lines, late Friday. A woman died Saturday in Noble County when high winds knocked her trailer 100 yards off the foundation. Details on the other deaths were not available. The Red Cross set up shelters in Knox, Richland and Morgan counties, which were under emergency declarations. There also were emergency declarations in Athens, Coshocton, Delaware, Guernsey, Knox, Licking, Marion, Meigs, Monroe, Morrow, Muskingum, Noble, Perry, Richland and Washington counties.
Athens, Lawrence, Gallia, Meigs, Jackson and Vinton counties remained under a flash-flood watch through early today, the weather service said.
River watchers didn't expect the flooding plaguing eastern Ohio to cause problems for Cincinnati by the time the water drains into the Ohio River and makes its way downstream.
The Ohio River at Cincinnati is expected to crest at 38.3 feet Wednesday, well below the flood stage of 52 feet, said Diane Innes, meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
Enquirer reporter Robert Sanchez and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
