Lawndale community battles flooding as rains continue in the forecast

 

[June 28, 2021] 

On Sunday the Logan County Emergency Management Agency called to action all willing volunteers to help sandbag around homes in Lawndale. Many people came together including volunteers from outside of town, off duty fire fighters and other emergency response agencies and residents of the town.

The problem of water stems from a small branch of Kickapoo Creek that runs through town. According to one volunteer who lives in the Lincoln area, she and her husband had been in Lawndale on Saturday night, and didn’t note any water issues. Then at 1:30 a.m. on Sunday morning they heard that Lawndale was in trouble.

The town is indeed in trouble, and the forecast of additional rains over the next few days are not going to help the situation.

Residential buildings along that branch of the creek are already seeing water invade their homes.



Some are evacuating with hopes of at least saving their personal belongings.
 

Others were on Sunday afternoon desperately working to get sandbags around their homes before the water took over.

While many will have to wait for the water to recede before knowing the true extent of the damage, at least one home already has damage that is notably visible.

This home had so much water rushing under it that it blew out the foundation.

At around 3 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, Logan County EMA announced that the sandbagging had been completed. All that is left now is for residents to wait, watch, and hope that the water comes no closer.

Kickapoo Creek is fed from the north. On Sunday afternoon the National Weather Service shared that water levels have reached record highs along the creek with flooding in the Warrensville and Lawndale area already. NWS also cautioned that flooding will occur along the creek to the south as water travels from the north where heavy rains fell over the weekend and additional rainfall amounts accumulate this week.

[Nila Smith]