COLERAIN TOWNSHIP, Ohio — The majority of the west side missed the flash flooding we saw late last week, but Tuesday was a different story.
Residents on Blanchetta Drive and surrounding streets in Colerain Township spent all day Wednesday cleaning up the damage and dirt left behind by heavy rain. Many homes with downhill driveways or near the base of a hill saw several feet of water.
“When I came home and (came) around the street, I knew it wasn’t gonna be good,” said Dominic Diana, who lives in the neighborhood. “I had to park a block up just so my car didn’t go into the water and then walk just to get into the house.”
Diana said his street looked like a pond, with water coming up to his stomach as he walked home.
WATCH: This Colerain Township neighborhood saw several feet of water come into their yards and homes
“We had probably, I would say two to three feet of water that came up in our basement,” Diana said. “Then my barn over there, it’s got an antique motorcycle in it that was my grandfather's, a couple race dirt bikes in it, tools and equipment that’s all potentially ruined.”
Diana’s backyard saw the most flooding, totaling close to four and a half feet of water, flooding his shed and threatening the lives of his ducks, which live in a fenced-in coop.
“My kind of instinct was to make my way back there and let them out so they don’t drown,” Diana said.
He said the amount of water that came down was more than he’s ever seen, and that it all happened in just a few hours.
Diana showed us where his basement foundation cracked due to pressure from the water under his home.
Diana says he and his wife have lived in the area for three years, and despite the area having a history of flooding, it has not been an issue until recently. He said that this is the second time they’ve seen flooding in the last month, and they are concerned it may become a consistent issue.
Other neighbors shared similar stories to Diana’s, saying that in all the years they’ve lived here they’ve seen nothing like Tuesday’s flooding.
