XENIA — Historic rainfall struck Xenia on Sunday, causing severe flood damage that destroyed homes and left residents struggling to repair water-damaged property.
City leaders have been working to connect displaced residents with support and emergency resources to assist in their recovery.
The high waters inundated neighborhoods along Shawnee Creek, including areas on California Street.
The city has not seen flood levels of this magnitude since 1886.
Damage assessments are now complete, enabling municipal officials to accelerate the delivery of assistance to impacted families.
Crystal Martin, a Xenia resident living on California Street along Shawnee Creek, was among those displaced when floodwaters destroyed nearly everything she owned.
Insurance companies classify her neighborhood as a flood zone.
“No money, clothes, appliances, just gone down the drain,” Martin said. “I guess that’s nature? That’s what I have to tell myself.”
City officials and local leaders have stepped in to assist residents beyond helping with standard damage paperwork, including dropping off trash dumpsters and providing direct check-ins.
“They did drop trash dumpsters off,” Martin said. “They have really helped out a lot, so I don’t I’m just ready to get this mess done and move on with my life and get back to work.”
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Xenia City Manager Brent Merriman said the flood-damaged structures present unique challenges due to their age and location.
“Under today’s standards, you probably would not be able to build in those locations, and if you were, it would be heavily restricted,” Merriman said.
“So these structures typically are very old homes from maybe the late 1800s, early 1900s. So they’re going to have some unique characteristics to begin with.”
Merriman emphasized that the municipality maintains its infrastructure, but the sheer volume of stormwater during the storm overwhelmed the system.
“We’re very proactive in cleaning out our storm mains, clearing out our waterways to make sure they’re unobstructed,” Merriman said. “But even with those efforts, when you have this type of rainfall in such a short amount of time, it’s bound to have some flooding issues.”
A community coordinator is currently working directly with affected individuals to provide support and resources tailored to each family’s specific circumstances.
City leaders will release an after-action report regarding the flooding in a few weeks.