COLUMBUS — Concerns about continued flooding and forecasts of more rain have prompted Ohio Gov. John Kasich to issue an emergency declaration for 17 counties in the southern and eastern parts of the state.
The declaration made Saturday afternoon allows for the National Guard to be activated if needed.
Meanwhile, the National Weather Service issued flood warnings in Licking County and extended a flood Advisory for Franklin and Delaware counties, northwestern Licking County, Madison County and southern Union County in central Ohio until 11:15 a.m. Sunday.
Flood warnings were issued for the Licking River in Ohio below Newark and Raccoon Creek near Granville
High water closed roadways and ramps in southern Franklin County and in Pickaway County, including U.S. Route 23 at I-270 on the South Side and the ramps at the interchange.
The Pickaway County Engineer closed Canal Road between State Route 104 and Mill Road Sunday afternoon due to high water and State Route 762 was closed between U.S. Route 23 and State Route 104.
The state transportation department tweeted at 11:00 a.m. that 48 state, U.S. routes and interstates were closed or restricted due to flooding.
Counties included in Kasich’s emergency declaration are Adams, Athens, Belmont, Brown, Clermont, Columbiana, Gallia, Hamilton, Hocking, Jackson, Jefferson, Lawrence, Monroe, Meigs, Muskingum, Scioto and Washington.
According to a statement from Kasich’s office announcing the declaration, it includes deploying National Guard troops in response to local requests to help install floodgates along floodwalls, providing water pumps to Scioto and Lawrence counties, installing flood gates in Portsmouth, supplying sandbags to Athens County and helping coordinate local efforts and report the latest information on the flooding to federal, state and local officials.
Ohio University, in Athens, has cancelled classes for Monday because of flooding.
The National Weather Service says the Ohio River at Cincinnati was at 59.8 feet ar 6:00 a.m. Sunday, well above the 52-footflood stage and was expected to rise to near 60.6 feet by Sunday afternoon before falling but was forecast to remain above flood stage for the next five days.
Homes and businesses in the East End and California areas of Cincinnati were significantly flooded.
Much of Route 52 continued to flood between Cincinnati and New Richmond.
Backwater flooding up the Little Miami River affected Anderson Township up to Newtown.
Governors in Indiana, Illinois and Missouri issued similar emergency declarations as the storm system that included possible tornadoes left at least two people dead in Kentucky and one in Arkansas as it pushed its way eastward through the central United States, leaving demolished homes, damaged vehicles and uprooted trees in its wake.