CINCINNATI — The City of Cincinnati estimates roughly 700 homes within city limits may have been impacted by recent flooding.
The city said it is beginning to transition to cleanup efforts beginning Thursday and Friday and continuing into next week.
Get an inside look at some of the debris the Ohio River left behind:
"Some cleanup may take weeks to complete," reads a press release from the city. "This will be determined as waters recede and crews are able to assess the severity of damages."
The city's immediate focus will be on:
- Assessing damage to public infrastructure and private properties
- Reinstalling traffic signal controllers and reopening roads
- Cleaning up flooded areas, including parks and recreation facilities
- Removing flood gates and deactivating the barrier dam
The Department of Public Services will handle cleanup and assessing damage to roads, bridges, utilities and facilities. From there, DPS will work to repair damages to ensure streets are safe for travel, including patching any potholes and repairing damaged infrastructure.
DPS will also work to conduct landslide cleanup at two landslides in Mt. Adams and Mt. Auburn.
On Friday, Buildings and Inspections staff will go door-to-door to inspect properties affected by flooding in neighborhoods hit hardest. B&I will also assess the severity of the damage to homes.
In all, B&I has estimated that around 700 addresses in the Central Business District, East End, California and Riverside neighborhoods have been damaged by floodwaters. The inspectors will distribute handouts to property owners with information on next steps to follow while recovering from the flood damage.
In California, construction worker Gus Kennedy spent Wednesday evening collecting logs, computer chairs, trash and other refuse left out in the streets of his neighborhood as flood waters receded and loaded everything into his G.K. Construction truck.
He did the work as his own basement still sat waterlogged and caked in mud.
"We're going to squeegee it," Kennedy said. "Pressure washer is over there right now. I just feel sorry for my neighbors."
Kennedy said the people in his town try to watch out for one another when disaster strikes.
"That's true around here, try to keep a community out here," he said. "It's nice. We like living down here."
WATCH: California residents help their neighbors as Cincinnati pivots to clean-up efforts
The city says, in addition, cleanup efforts will begin at the riverfront parks on Friday. Staff plans to clean a one-mile stretch that consists of about 60 acres of parks, including Smale, Yeatman's Cove and Sawyer Point. Visitors should plan on the parks remaining unusable through the weekend.
Schmidt and Riverside Boat Ramps and athletic fields, Otto Armleder athletic fields and playground, Boldface Park, Turkey Ridge Park, Reeves Golf Course, and Lunken Playfield and Tennis Center will be closed through next week for cleanup.
Rakestraw athletic field and Leblond Recreation Center are both expected to reopen on Friday.
The Metropolitan Sewer District has also received 259 reports of possible sewer backups; of those, MSD has investigated 256 and determined that 23 of those are related to capacity issues in the public sewer.
Property owners and tenants who believe they're experiencing sewer issues can report the problem to MSD 24 hours a day, 7 days a week either by phone at 523.352.4900 or online.
