City offers various resources to residents, business owners

CINCINNATI – In preparation of flood waters receding the City of Cincinnati has been working with regional and agency partners to prepare for flood clean up and recovery. A number of steps have been taking to offer assistance to residents and expedite this process.

• EMERGENCY RESOURCES

“The City has come a long way since the last flood of this magnitude in 1997. We are better educated and better informed on how to deal with high water. There has been an intentional effort by the administration and our first responders to prepare and practice for emergency situations and as evident by the limited human impact, that practice paid off. We will work just as hard in the recovery process,” said Mayor John Cranley.

Emergency Measures. City Manager Harry Black issued an emergency declaration for the City of Cincinnati. In addition, the Emergency Operations Center was activated. These steps were taken in order to allow operations to run as quickly and nimbly as possible and are not related to any imminent public safety threat.

“As the water level declines, our efforts have shifted to recovery. That includes things like reopening roads and City facilities, cleanup efforts, and assessing and repairing various City assets damaged during this severe weather event,” said City Manager Harry Black. “Coordination continues to be very effective with our local, regional and agency partners as we deploy assets to areas along the Ohio River. We want to thank our hard-working City departments for their efforts during this fluid and dynamic situation.”

Damage Assessment. The City will also on Friday begin preliminary damage assessments of the approximately 1,000 impacted properties identified in flood models. These properties will be placed in four different categories; Affected, Minor Damage, Major Damage, and Destroyed. Depending on the severity of the damage, it is possible that the property owner will be required to obtain a permit(s) for the required work, but they will be available at the temporary Service Center.

Temporary Permitting Center. To better assist the thousands of residents and business owners affected by the recent flooding, the City of Cincinnati will open a temporary Service Center at the LeBlond Recreation Center (2335 Riverside Dr.) in the East End neighborhood. Beginning at 9 a.m. Friday, March 2, the temporary site will offer easy accessibility to the City’s permitting and inspection process. Representatives from the Permit Center will be available to issue permits, conduct plan reviews, and speak about the preliminary damage assessment process.

Flood Resource Website and Phone Number. The City of Cincinnati has established a website – www.cincinnati-oh.gov/flood18 – that provides a variety of information related to flood recovery including details about the permitting process, safety tips, traffic information, etc. This page will be updated with new information as it becomes available. In addition, residents may submit service requests and report any flood damage to public property at 5916000.com or using the Fix it Cincy! mobile app, which is available for both Apple and Android devices.

Clean Up Kits. Homeowners in need of assistance may also reach out to the American Red Cross at 513-579-3045, which is offering clean-up kits. In addition, the organization is coordinating volunteer clean-up efforts in neighborhoods along the Ohio River and other areas in the region affected by flooding. You can find more information here www.Redcross.org/cincinnati.Phone Number. Residents may also call 513-591-6000 to report damage or request an assessment of their property. Customer service personnel will be available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Sunday, to accommodate the emergency nature of this weather event.

Sheltering Assistance. Anyone in need of sheltering assistance should call 513-579-3045. The City partnered with the Red Cross to provide a temporary shelter at the Mt. Washington Recreation Center (1715 Beacon St.) to those affected by flooding. Thankfully, due to lack of need, the shelter is set to close Wednesday at 3 p.m.

Roads and Traffic. Road conditions will be assessed, cleaned and re-opened as quickly as possible. The City will also continue to utilize the City’s various social media accounts to share information in real-time especially related to street re-openings. including @CityOfCincy, @RoadmapCincy, @CincyPD  on Twitter as well as the City’s Facebook and Nextdoor accounts.

Flood Update News Conference from CitiCable on Vimeo.