zNewsletter Sunday

Ohio River Subsides, Leaving a Muddy Mess Behind

Derek Redd

WHEELING -- By Friday evening, much of the Ohio River water that covered the streets of Wheeling Island had slinked back to more normal levels.

The mud and debris, though, remained.

So many of the Island's residents began the long process of cleaning up after one of the city's biggest floods in recent memory. The crest of 41.49 feet on Thursday night marked the 26th-highest ever recorded in Wheeling.

Island residents were out in force on Friday, armed with hoses, shovels, brooms and squeegees, digging mud out of their basements and off their sidewalks and driveways and hosing down the floors.

For North Erie Street resident Michael Terek, it was the first big flood he had experienced since moving into his home a few years back.

Yet he didn't go into the situation completely blind. He had plenty of family who have lived on Wheeling Island who were veterans to floods.

"So we knew it was just a matter of time," Terek said.

Terek and his wife Heidi got about 3½ feet of water in their basement. As flood waters rose earlier this week, they had a much more pessimistic view.

"It was less than I thought," Michael Terek said. "I was expecting the worst when I came down this morning."

Along the street, the water rose to about waist height, the Tereks said. As the rain, and the flooding kept coming, Michael Terek said he couldn't help but take a minute to watch Mother Nature at work.

"I was kind of in awe," he said.

A couple of houses down, Gus Ludovici also got his first experience with Island flooding. He moved to the neighborhood in 2019. Unlike Michael Terek, his prior knowledge was minimal. He grew up in Hancock County.

"It was pretty scary," Ludovici said, adding his basement saw about three feet of water. "Luckily, we had neighbors to warn us and prepare us. We got all the expensive appliances out of the basement and all the belongings that are important to us.

"I couldn't really sleep because you had to watch it constantly," he added.

On the south side of Wheeling island, there was more water still on the roads and in the parking lots, especially at Wheeling Island Stadium and the Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack. According to a release from the hotel, the hotel and gaming floor weren't impacted. Critical systems were maintained using the building's generator. In order to reopen, normal electrical power will need to be restored. The hotel hopes to open portions of the property in the coming days.

The racetrack wasn't so fortunate. It is closed until further notice after being submerged, the sand surface washed away. The racetrack will require a full resurfacing once the river completely recedes.

As frustrating as the flood and the subsequent cleanup were for Island residents, they found a silver lining in the help they received from their neighbors both on the Island and other parts of the Ohio Valley. Michael Terek said family and friends helped him move items out of the basement to higher ground before the river reached his home. He also watched Pizza Milano in St. Clairsville drive around the neighborhood passing out free pizzas.

Groups from all over the region came to Wheeling Island to assist. Cleaning products were passed out Friday at Madison Elementary. The Experience Church passed out free Chick-fil-A meals. Heidi Terek's own daughters Genae Klempa and Jodi Clark will be handing out cleaning products like buckets, bleach, paper towels and rubber gloves, along with snacks at Belle Isle Field starting at 9 a.m. today.

Ludovici said it was heartening to watch how neighborly his neighbors were during the flood. They shouted conversations from porch to porch. Another neighbor made Ludovici dessert, so he kayaked over to retrieve it. In the meantime, he helped another neighbor get their car to higher ground. It is that strong sense of community that makes events like this week's flood more palatable.

"I told my girlfriend that we've lived here almost 2,050 days without water entering our basement, so it's been worth it every other day," he said.