DEERFIELD TOWNSHIP — A family of five was forced to abandon their Loveland Park home, and a second family might follow suit after heavy rains Tuesday apparently caused their back yards to slide into a steep gully.

Pam Socha stands in what's left of her grandmother Christina Neece's back yard, where land and the fence fell into a gully. In the background is the Tate family house, which was ruled unsafe. (Michael Snyder photos) | ZOOM |

        “I've been here 47 years and I've never seen it this bad,” said Christine Meece, who was awakened Monday night by the sound of trees snapping and sliding down the hill.

        “It sounded like firecrackers. All day long (the ground) sunk and trees kept falling.”

        Just over an inch of rain fell officially in Cincinnati early Tuesday. But some areas saw much more, thanks to a continuation of storms that began early Monday.

        Mrs. Meece said the ground in her back yard began cracking last week, but progressively began eroding after 8 a.m. Tuesday, taking her chain link fence with it.

        Her neighbors, Chris and Michelle Tate, lost a deck, their entire back yard and a footer for their foundation. Busy packing their cars with belongings after county officials told them to vacate the house, the Tates were too distraught to talk.

Yard supporting the deck has slipped behind the Tate home in Deerfield Township. | ZOOM |

        “One corner (of the house) is just hanging out in the middle of the hill,” said Tom Maloney, Warren County building and electrical inspector.

        A geotechnical engineer called in by the county will determine whether the house can be saved and if Mrs. Meece will have to leave as well, Mr. Maloney said.

        The homes are near the intersection of Oldmill Road and Lilly Drive, between Montgomery Road and the Little Miami River.

        Some areas saw minor flooding, including Crescentville, Reading and Fields Ertel roads in Sharonville, but police throughout the Tristate who braced for an increase in traffic crashes were pleasantly surprised.

        “We had no problem, maybe two or three fender-benders,” said Steve Barnett, spokesman for the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department. Since the first day of spring March 21, Greater Cincinnati has had 9.09 inches of rain. The average is 6.38 inches, said Accuweather meteorologist Frank Strait.

        More storms are expected today, with a high of 80, Mr. Strait said.

        Enquirer reporter Susan Vela contributed.
       

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