Franklin County warns residents to keep a close eye on flooding concerns
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- April showers are not wasting any time this year.
Franklin County Emergency Management officials said they will be keeping a close eye on the rivers as rain starts to move in. They said if you live in an area that tends to flood in rain events, now is the time to start preparing.
"We have some traditional low lying areas that we always kind of focus on or worry about if they get, you know, two or three inches in a very short period of time, they will experience flooding or flash flooding,” said Jeff Young, the Director of Franklin County Emergency Management and Homeland Security.
He said they will have crews monitoring the river gauges and radars for any potential situations.
“We're kind of watching the river gages and they have been fairly accurate on their predictive models," Young said. "You know, they go through different stages. The national weather service tracks those, whether it is, you know, no flooding or they're starting to take preemptive action to moderate flooding, to major flooding. And we can kind of watch and see where that crest is and that kind of drives some decision making."
Overnight Sunday into Monday, certain areas in Franklin County saw some flooding with early morning rain.
Young said as of now they are not expecting anything too problematic, but that those who live along any bodies of water or an area that tends to flood need to start their prep now.
“You're always kind of prepping in your mind, whether it is putting items, you know, at a higher elevation, you know, making sure that your pumps are working,” Young said. “Everybody needs to kind of have a go kit, the ability to take those important things with you.”
Young said go kits should include any important documents you need, medications, and a charging device for phones. He said to make a plan with your family. Young said if your home does flood, don’t wait around to leave as quickly as you can.
He said to watch for alerts on your phone from Franklin County EMA, the National Weather Service and Storm Team 4.