2007 Blanchard River Flood Started 10 Years Ago Today

8/21/17 – 5:07 A.M.

10-years ago today it started raining in Findlay, and it seemingly would never stop. Today marks the 10-year anniversary of the start of the 2007 Blanchard River flood. It all started on August 21, 2007 when remnants of Hurricane Erin combined with moisture from the Gulf of Mexico to create a front that dumped between five and nine inches of rain on northwest Ohio. That caused the Blanchard River to rise to the second highest crest in its history, at just over 18.4 feet.

The Courier is chronicling that day and what has happened since then all this week. The newspaper reports the rapidly rising water led to firefighters and even members of the U.S. Coast Guard rescuing more than 900 Findlay residents from their homes. The flood waters took the life of a 92-year-old McComb man, who tried to get out of his car after it got stuck in high water on State Route 235 north of County Road 86.

All told, the flood substantially damaged 250 Findlay homes. More than 1,600 homes were eligible for help from FEMA. The federal government declared Hancock County and eight surrounding counties federal disaster areas.

The 2007 flood kicked off what has now been a decade of talks about flood mitigation. While no major flood control efforts have taken place, the county has torn down almost 150 structures that the 2007 flood damaged. Work to widen the river channel in Findlay starts this spring.

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