SPRINGFIELD — Heavy and persistent rains that hit the Springfield area on Monday left behind high water that closed roads, trapped people in their vehicles and collapsed the wall of a home.
Darrien Beverly and her family had to spend the night at a motel after water caved in a foundation wall of their home in the 4200 block of Imperial Drive. No one was injured, but the water and the damage it caused some anxious moments.
>> Flood, flash flood warnings in effect; heavy rain continues through the day
“The whole basement just fell apart -- all of it,” Beverly told News Center 7′s Sean Cudahy. “And then it flooded.”
She was upstairs in her room and her mother was elsewhere in the house when the wall collapsed. The sound, Beverly said, was like “somebody fell down the stairs.”
Beverly said her mother yelled at her when she went to the basement to investigate.
“I thought my Dad was down there, that’s why I went down there,” she said.
In other areas of Springfield, someone took the opportunity to break out the kayak while children couldn’t pass up the fun that could be had in ankle-deep water. Several vehicles were reportedly stuck in high water late Monday afternoon in a large area north and east of Springfield.
Problems with high water were reported along North Limestone Street (state Route 72), the 2700 block of Red Coach Drive, Torrence Drive, Derr Road, Villa Road, Ridgewood Road East.
Fire/rescue crews were dispatched just before 6 p.m.
Initial reports indicated that at least one person couldn’t exit their vehicle on Red Coach Drive because of high water.
High water was reported on John Street, between state Route 72 (North Limestone Street) and Selma Street Road near Clark State Community College, according to Amateur radio reports to the National Weather Service chat room.
Other trouble spots were reported during the night. One was in Carlisle, where Central Avenue near Sunset Drive was closed because of high water. Another was in West Alexandria, where water caused the shutdown of U.S. 35 near Preble County Line Road.
A Flash Flood Watch remains in effect for the region through 8 p.m. Tuesday.
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