Heavy rain overnight into Thursday, August 20, 2026, sent flash floodwater through Columbus and the Dayton area, triggering flash flood warnings and prompting multiple water rescues and major road closures. Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said the city got roughly 3 inches of rain in 12 hours, with 4 to 5 inches in some neighborhoods. 10TV serves Columbus and central Ohio, while WHIO serves Dayton and the Miami Valley; both outlets were covering the same regional weather system, not separate unrelated floods. To the west, the Miami Valley saw up to about 6 inches overnight in spots, with widespread totals of 2 to 4 inches, according to WHIO. The ground was already saturated: more than 6 inches of rain had fallen across parts of central Ohio over the ten days leading into this week’s storm, and Thursday’s flooding was at least the third distinct round to hit Ohio this month. In Dayton, the Dayton Daily News reported August 2026 running well above normal, on pace to be the city’s second-wettest August in records dating to the late 1800s.
Key facts
- Rainfall: Columbus got roughly 3 inches of rain in 12 hours, with 4 to 5 inches in some neighborhoods; the Miami Valley saw up to about 6 inches overnight in spots.
- Rescues: Columbus firefighters made at least five water-rescue calls Thursday morning, plus a large search at two homeless encampments on Gender Road and a 12-year-old boy pulled from Blacklick Creek.
- Injuries: Two people pulled from the water were hospitalized for hypothermia and cold-water exposure; no deaths were confirmed from Thursday’s Columbus flooding.
- Road closures: Sections of I-71, I-70, State Route 674, Gender Road and Dayton-Cincinnati Pike were closed.
- River response: Columbus activated Franklinton’s floodwall as the Scioto River was forecast to crest near 24 feet; the Miami Conservancy District activated at least four of its five flood-control dams.
- Separate storm: An earlier flood starting August 11 killed one person in Roseville and displaced about 380 people in the Crooksville and Rose Farm area of Perry County — different counties than this week’s storm hit.
Water rescues in Columbus
Columbus firefighters answered at least five water-rescue calls between about 4:30 and 7 a.m. Thursday, including a rescue near West Broad Street and Washington Boulevard and five vehicles stuck near Jackson Pike and Dyer Road. A major response came later, around 11:30 a.m., when floodwater swept through two homeless encampments in the 3600 block of Gender Road near Blacklick Creek. More than 100 emergency personnel took part in the search, and firefighters separately rescued a 12-year-old boy from nearby Blacklick Creek around 2:30 p.m. Two people pulled from the water were hospitalized for hypothermia and cold-water exposure. By about 4 p.m., Columbus police and fire officials said everyone from the Gender Road encampments had been found alive and accounted for, with no confirmed deaths from that incident. Accounts of how many people needed rescue there varied: 10TV initially reported five people unaccounted for, Spectrum News 1 and NBC4 put the early number at seven before revising it to several, and other reports described as many as 13 people, plus a dog — the exact count was never settled.
Road closures across the region
The flooding closed roads on both sides of the state. In Columbus, the Ohio Department of Transportation reported three separate closures: lane closures on I-71 South beyond Frank Road, lane closures on I-71 North beyond I-270, and a partial shutdown of I-70 Thursday evening. State Route 674 at Lithopolis Road was fully closed, and high water shut the northbound lanes of Gender Road. In the Miami Valley, Dayton-Cincinnati Pike at Benner Road in Miamisburg also closed, and a man was rescued from his car after it became trapped in floodwater on State Route 503 in Preble County.
Flood-control response
Cities moved to hold back the rising rivers. Columbus activated the Franklinton neighborhood’s floodwall and floodgates along Greenlawn and Harmon avenues as the Scioto River rose; WOSU Public Media reported the river was forecast to crest around 24 feet near 2 p.m. Thursday. In the Miami Valley, the Miami Conservancy District activated at least four of its five flood-control dams to protect the nine counties the district covers.
An earlier, separate flood disaster
This week’s storm was separate from an earlier, more severe round of flooding that hit Perry and Muskingum counties in southeastern Ohio starting August 11. That storm dropped more than 6.5 inches of rain in a few hours, and one person died in Roseville during a medical emergency after floodwaters kept first responders from reaching them, Gov. Mike DeWine said. DeWine declared a state of emergency for Perry and Muskingum counties and activated the Ohio National Guard’s high-water rescue unit; about 380 people were displaced in the Crooksville and Rose Farm area, and more than 130,000 American Electric Power customers lost power. A second round of storms around August 15-16 brought further flooding and new rescues to those same southeastern counties, which are different counties than this week’s storm hit.
Current flood warnings
As of a check of the National Weather Service’s alert system around 5:47 a.m. Friday, August 21, no Flash Flood Warning was active anywhere in Ohio. Slower-moving Flood Warnings remained in effect in several counties, including Washington, Marion, Licking, Morgan, Fairfield, Pickaway, Monroe and Noble. The South Fork Licking River near Buckeye Lake was forecast to reach major flood stage into August 22, with an I-70 closure anticipated near there. Warnings can be issued or lifted within hours, so anyone in these areas should check current alerts from the National Weather Service or local officials rather than rely on Thursday’s forecast.