The Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati had received more than 900 reports of sewer backups and basement flooding by Monday as residents across the east side scrambled to clean up damage from Saturday's flash floods.
The National Weather Service warned that another round of severe storms was expected to hit the Ohio Valley on Tuesday with damaging winds as the primary threat.
The backup reports span the metro area. The heaviest confirmed damage was concentrated in Oakley, immediately west of the east-side villages, though the Tuesday storm threat covers the same geography.
Up to five inches of rain fell across Cincinnati and surrounding communities on Saturday, according to NWS Meteorologist Julie Dian-Reed. The Cincinnati Fire Department pulled two people from the roof of a car on Madison Road in Oakley after their vehicle became trapped in fast-moving water.
"We just don't expect rapids in the middle of the city," Capt. Derek Hunt of Cincinnati Fire Heavy Rescue 14 told reporters Monday.
MSD Director Diana Christy warned Monday that any water that entered homes during the storm should be treated as contaminated, whether it came from sewer backups or stormwater. MSD crews were working overtime through the week to inspect all 900-plus backup reports, Christy said.
Hamilton County Public Health's standing flood safety guidance urges residents to sign up for emergency alerts at alerthc.org, evacuate if ordered by authorities, and avoid standing floodwater.
Tuesday's storm threat
Dian-Reed said clustering storms could produce additional flood issues on Tuesday, July 21, though damaging wind was expected to be the main concern. The National Weather Service warned Monday that the incoming system could also produce tornadoes and large hail across the Ohio Valley.
No east-side village police departments or fire agencies had issued public statements about flood damage specific to Indian Hill, Madeira, Mariemont, Terrace Park, or Sycamore Township as of Monday evening. Sycamore Township, which declared a storm damage emergency on May 20 after an earlier severe weather event, had not issued a statement about the July 18 floods as of Monday evening.
Cleanup scene in Oakley
On Monday, residents along Camberwell Road and Brotherton Road in Oakley were piling flood-damaged belongings onto front yards and into dumpsters, racing against the Tuesday forecast.
Retired homeowner Anatasia Afanasieva stood next to a neighbor's mud-caked car, describing the financial toll. Her own basement was still coated in mud and sewage, with a ruined washer and dryer inside. Residents on higher ground near the lowest-lying areas were also flooded, according to WCPO.
Josh McCarthy, owner of Hee Hauling Junk Removal, was helping flood victims on Brotherton Road clear out belongings while waiving his profit margin. McCarthy told WCPO his phone was "ringing off the hook" as residents rushed to clear debris before Tuesday's storms.
How to report damage
Residents can report storm debris, blocked roadways, or drainage concerns by calling 311 within Cincinnati city limits or 513-765-1212 outside city limits. MSD sewer backup reports can be filed at 513-352-4900 or msdgc.org/sbu. The NWS encouraged all residents to verify that emergency alert settings are enabled on their smartphones ahead of Tuesday's storms.
