The village of West Lafayette in Coshocton County is in a state of emergency because of flash flooding.
It started raining hard around 11 p.m. Tuesday, and by midnight the village experienced flash flooding.
“Now, we’re kind of in a recovery stage,” says West Lafayette mayor Stephen Bordenkircher. “We did issue a disaster declaration and we’ve asked the county to do the same because the flooding reached out beyond the village, and it’s quite substantial."
Bordenkircher says emergency responders had to relocate 30 families to emergency shelter at the local Baptist church.
“They’re scurrying over at the school,” Bordenkircher says. “The superintendent, I was with him at 4 a.m. this morning and working diligently to address their problems. And it’s closed some roads and impacted the community.”
He says several basements have collapsed, and a couple of schools were damaged by the water.
“One car was abandoned because the flood waters were so deep. We have another car that, despite signs and warnings, drove into the flood water,” Bordenkircher says. “Fortunately, no one was hurt, but the vehicle is now sitting in the middle of the flood water.”
The village and county are working to clear the water and keep people safe.
