Flood gates installed downtown as Ohio River set to rise to highest level in years
Updated: 10:34 AM EDT Apr 5, 2025
KATIE. THANK YOU. WELL, ALL OF THIS RAIN HAS COMMUNITIES BRACING FOR MORE FLOODING AS THE OHIO RIVER CONTINUES TO RISE. WLWT NEWS FIVE’S RICHARD CHILES JOINS US LIVE THIS MORNING AT SMALE PARK WITH HOW CREWS IN OHIO AND KENTUCKY ARE WORKING TO GET AHEAD OF THE RISING WATER. GOOD MORNING. RICHARD. NOW, TIFFANY, GOOD MORNING FROM DOWNTOWN CINCINNATI, HERE ON THE RIVERFRONT, ON BOTH SIDES OF THE RIVER. IT HAS BEEN A VERY BUSY 24 HOURS FOR THESE CREWS WORKING. WANT YOU TO TAKE A LOOK. THIS IS SMALE PARK, WHICH HAS BEEN COMPLETELY RECLAIMED BY THE OHIO RIVER. THE DUCKS AND GEESE FINDING THEIR WAY THROUGH OUR AMUSEMENT AREA. BUT AGAIN, YOU GET AN IDEA OF HOW THIS RIVER HAS COME BACK UP. YOU SEE, ALONG THE FENCE LINE, JUST THE RISE IN THE WATER AND THEN MERGING QUICKLY INTO THE OHIO. SEEING A LOT OF THAT FAST MOVING DEBRIS. THIS GIVES YOU AN IDEA OF WHAT THESE TORRENTIAL RAINS HAVE DONE. THE SWOLLEN OHIO RIVER, AGAIN, HAS SWALLOWED UP THE BANKS. NOW, TAKING A LOOK FOR THESE ROAD CREWS WITH SOME VIDEO THAT WE’VE HAD FROM OVERNIGHT, YOU GET AN IDEA OF WHAT THIS HAS MEANT FOR THEIR WORK. YOU GET A CHANCE TO SEE NOW THE FLOOD GATES BACK UP. THIS IS QUEENS GATE. SAME SORT OF THING THAT WE’VE BEEN SEEING ON MARION WAY AS THEY ARE PREPARING TO RAISE THAT FLOOD WALL THERE ON THE KENTUCKY SIDE OF THE RIVER. VERY, VERY SIMILAR SITUATION. SANDBAGS GOING IN PLACE. AGAIN, WE’RE SEEING FLOOD WALLS PUT UP ACROSS THROUGH NEWPORT, COVINGTON AGAIN. BUT NOW IT IS ALL ABOUT MAKING SURE ROAD SAFETY IS AT WATER AGAIN. HAS SWOLLEN BEYOND ITS BANKS, RECLAIMING THIS MAJESTIC RIVER VALLEY. THE AMOUNT OF RAIN THAT WE’RE GOING TO SEE OVERNIGHT AND OVER THE NEXT 1 OR 2 DAYS IS GOING TO BE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT TO WHERE WE’RE GOING TO HAVE A LOT OF ROAD CLOSURES THAT WE’RE DEALING WITH IN OUR DISTRICT STEPS. AGAIN, YOU SEE THE STEPS HERE AT SMALE PARK AGAIN, WHERE IT’S JUST CERTAINLY ONE THAT’S BEEN OVERTAKEN BY THE RIVER. WE ANTICIPATE, OF COURSE, THIS RIVER IS AT ITS HIGHEST STAGES AT. IT’S BEEN IN THE LAST SEVEN YEARS. SO AGAIN, PAYING CLOSE ATTENTION TO METEOROLOGIST KATIE DONOVAN EXPECTING THE CREST SOMETIME EITHER LATE SUNDAY, EARLY MONDAY. BUT IT WILL BE TOUGH GOING UNTIL THEN. REPORTING LIVE THIS MORNING, RICHARD CHILES WLWT N
Flood gates installed downtown as Ohio River set to rise to highest level in years
Updated: 10:34 AM EDT Apr 5, 2025
With the Ohio River expected to crest at 60 feet in Cincinnati Monday, 15 flood gates are being installed in the Riverfront Transit Center.The Ohio Department of Transportation says it’s the first time since 2018 that they’ve been needed.The gates will also keep floodwaters off Fort Washington Way.Heavy rain continues Saturday morning and throughout the day. All told, the 5 day rainfall totals will be around 4-7 inches by the end of the weekend. There will be few dry hours Saturday, with the heaviest rain arriving during the late afternoon and early evening.If your basement typically floods, this will be another week of checking on the sump pump. The Little Miami reaches the minor flood stage Sunday. The Great Miami River rises to moderate flood stage Sunday. The Ohio River is rapidly rising and hits 60 feet by Monday morning, the highest we have seen the Ohio since 2018. If you live in a flood-prone area, you’ll likely see high water issues at times, and we could see more than the typical roads closed for standing water.
CINCINNATI —With the Ohio River expected to crest at 60 feet in Cincinnati Monday, 15 flood gates are being installed in the Riverfront Transit Center.
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With the Ohio River expected to hit 60′, @odot_cincinnati crews are installing the flood gates in the Riverfront Transit Center in downtown Cincinnati. These gates also keep floodwaters off Fort Washington Way. pic.twitter.com/g1IyFvSCRw
— Matt Bruning (@mbruning81) April 5, 2025
The Ohio Department of Transportation says it’s the first time since 2018 that they’ve been needed.
The gates will also keep floodwaters off Fort Washington Way.
Heavy rain continues Saturday morning and throughout the day. All told, the 5 day rainfall totals will be around 4-7 inches by the end of the weekend.
There will be few dry hours Saturday, with the heaviest rain arriving during the late afternoon and early evening.
If your basement typically floods, this will be another week of checking on the sump pump.
The Little Miami reaches the minor flood stage Sunday. The Great Miami River rises to moderate flood stage Sunday.
The Ohio River is rapidly rising and hits 60 feet by Monday morning, the highest we have seen the Ohio since 2018. If you live in a flood-prone area, you’ll likely see high water issues at times, and we could see more than the typical roads closed for standing water.
