1969 — July 4, Thunderstorms, flooding, strong wind, tornadoes, esp. north-central OH–42

— 42 Blanchard tally from locality breakouts below.
— 42 Environmental Data Service, Storm Data, Vol. 11, No. 7, July 1969, p. 105.
— 1 Lightning strikes and kills man in back yard Grove City, Franklin County.
–41 Flooding, wind, electrical, Northern Ohio, July 4th early evening to July 5th 11 am.
— 8 Falling trees
— 6 Electrocution
— 1 Lightning
— 1 Storm-related injuries, later.
–26 Drowning (14 in Wayne County)
— 41 Ohio Historical Society. “July 4, 1969: Independence Day Flood.”
— 41 Schmidlin and Schmidlin. Thunder in the Heartland…Weather Events in Ohio. 1996, 213.
— 41 State of Ohio Hazard Mitigation Plan. Sec. 2, Hazard Identification & Risk Assess, 75.

Breakout of Fatalities by Locality (when identified):
— 1 Albany area, Stone Quarry. Lightning sets off dynamite; boulder falls on workman.
— 2 Ashland. Drownings; Shirley Morris, 31 and niece, Kimberly Owens, 9, of Lakeville.
— 2 Burbank area. Drownings; attempt to rescue girl in floodwater near I-71.
— 2 Canton, July 5. Drownings; swimming in flood water. Mervin and Lyle Ward, 17 and 20.
— 1 Cedar Point. Tornado. UPI. “Twisters Rip Top of State, 8 Dead.” Mansfield News, 7-5-1969.
–1 Ernest Paszczykowski, 20 of Toledo.
— 2 Cleveland area. Electrocutions when men tried to move power lines that fell on their cars.
–1 Sammy Butler, 44.
–1 Elmer Wachhaus. 56.
— 7 Cleveland area. Tornadoes. UPI. “Twisters Rip Top of State, 8 Dead.” 7-5-1969.
–3 Edgewater Beach Park, western Cleveland. People gathered to watch fireworks.
–1 Deborah Bianchi, 18. [Another report attributes death to severe wind storm.]
–1 Jo Ann Geneya, 23. Tree fell on her; spelling last name as Geneva.
–1 Kenneth M. Rogers, 22. [Killed in same wrecked pavilion as Deborah Bianchi.]
— 1 Defiance. Electrocution; power co. worker making emergency repairs; Charles Felster, 38.
— 1 Grove City, Franklin County. Lightning killed a man while working in his back yard.
— 1 Hickory Lake. Drowning; flash flooding into campground; Ginger Hinkle, 7, of Millersburg.
— 1 Jeromesville. Drowning; semi-truck goes off road; driver swept away upon getting out.
— 1 Kidron. Drowning; woman’s car swept away by flood waters. Mabel Frantz, 53.
— 2 Killbuck. Drownings; Earl Elliott, 57 and wife, Ada Elliott, 56, trying to get from car to home.
— 1 Killbuck. Drowning; found dead in flooded house trailer; John McMillan, 86.
— 2 Lakewood. Falling trees; teenaged girls. UPI. “Twisters Rip Top of State, 8 Dead.” 7-5-1969.
–1 Lakewood Park, near Cleveland. Greta Schwartz, 16.
–1 Lakewood Park. Dagmar Dolejs, 14.
— 1 Marblehead. Electrocution; Coast Guard radioman setting up emergency ops. equipment.
— 1 Maumee Bay. Drowning; lightning hits boat, starts fire; Howard E. Moore jumps overboard.
— 1 Milan. Lightning struck home; Mrs. Katherine Dunlevy, 80.
— 1 Mt. Eaton, Holmes County. Drowning; unidentified person.
— 2 Nankin area, State 58. Drownings; woman and boy when family car stalled in water.
— 1 North Lawrence, Stark Co.. Drowned in flooded Newman Creek; Kathy Schonauer, 10.
— 1 Poland. Falling tree; Karen Miller, 18.
— 1 Port Clinton. Drowning; boat capsized; Richard Oxner, 60 of Springfield.
— 1 Toledo. Electrocution; touching live wire in storm debris; Thomas Kreft, 17.
— 1 Williston area. Electrocuted removing live wire from car; Robert Oppe, 21, Oregon OH.
–11 Wooster. Drownings, especially Bauer Road neighborhood along Apple Creek.
–8 Rescue boat overturns. Mosser. “Flood of ’69: Those who…” Daily Record, Wooster, 6-30-2019.
–1 John Baumgartner, 34.
–1 Basil Bright, 38.
–1 Roger Henthorn, 6.
–1 Patricia “Patty” Lovett, 12.
–1 Lovina Taylor, 34.
–1 Doris Wirth, 26.
–1 Sharon Wirth, 4
–1 Six-week-old foster child of Doris Wirth, named Anthony.
–3 Wooster. Drownings; rescue boat overturned.
–2 Wooster policemen Sgt. Paul Knisely and Robert Goodrich.
–1 John C. Mann, 57, of Wooster, attempting to assist Knisely and Goodrich.

Narrative Information

Environmental Data Service, Storm Data: “Ohio….Grove City, Franklin County…[July] 4…7:15p…1 [killed]…Electrical…”Lightning struck and killed a man while working in his back yard.”

“….Northern Ohio…[July] 4-5 Evening 4th-noon 5th…41 [killed]…Flooding, wind, electrical.

“Four to eleven inches of rain fell over a 21 county area (30 miles either side of a Toledo to Dennison, Tuscarawas County, line) between 6 PM of the 4th and 11 AM on 5th. Areas northeast of an Elyria to Steubenville line received 2 to 4 inches of rain. Wind gusts of up to 100 miles per hour and severe lightning accompanied the initial line of thunderstorms which extended from Toledo to Conneaut. These initial severe storms downed thousands of trees. Including all areas, the early evening storms resulted in 16 deaths (8 people were killed by falling trees, 6 by electrocution by fallen wires, 1 by lightning and 1 died later from storm related injuries).

“Runoff from the heavy rains exceeded the capacity of drainage systems and headwater streams thus resulting in rapid and severe inundation of much of the area. Many streams overflowed with flood stages exceeding those recorded in all previous floods at a minimum of 11 locations. All of Wayne County was hit with rains exceeding 9 inches in less than 15 hours. The resultant flooding which occurred in Wayne County claimed 14 lives, wiped out crops planted in low areas and destroyed 110 bridge structures. Wooster’s water plant was not returned to operation until July 11.

“The maximum flood of record occurred along the Killbuck Creek in Holmes County. At Killbuck the stream crested at 26.4 feet (3 to 4 feet is normal) with 95 percent of the village under water. The northern half of Ashland County remained paralyzed for more than 48 hours. Thirty bridge structures were damaged in Ashland County and 65 in Holmes County. At Norwalk a stream of water 400 feet wide and 7 feet deep moved through several streets. Reservoirs at Norwalk and Greenfield broke. Sixty-six bridges and culverts sustained damage in Erie and Huron Counties. It was impossible to get traffic in and out of Vermillion.

“Nearly 14,000 dwellings sustained damages from the storms. Twenty-six persons were drowned. All but 5 of these occurred within Wayne, Holmes, and Ashland Counties. A breakdown of the economic losses from the storm follows: Private property $5,407,000; crops and livestock $20,520,000; boats $1,248,750; cars $4,000,000; public property and utilities $35,000,000….In all, highways in 38 counties were damaged by flood wat4r. Water washed out six main bridges and 30 minor structures in the Ohio Highway Department Division 3, an eight-county area around Ashland. As of July 20, 40 state routes were still closed in North Central Ohio.” (Storm Data, Vol. 11, No. 7, July 1969, pp. 105-106.)

Ohio Historical Society: “The most devastating summer flooding in Ohio history struck north-central Ohio during the state’s stormiest Independence Day. Severe thunderstorms moved from Lake Erie into North Coast communities at about 8 PM on July 4th, 1969. This line of storms became nearly stationary for eight hours from Toledo southeastward through Fremont, Norwalk, Ashland, and Wooster. Flooding, winds up to 100 mph, tornadoes, and lightning caused 41 deaths and injured over 500 people. More than 10,000 homes were damaged and 104 small businesses were destroyed. Severe weather developed over Lake Erie after 6 PM and moved southward toward the Ohio shore with strong winds, heavy rain, and intense lightning. Several people were killed by falling trees. Most of the hundreds of small pleasure boats anchored along Lake Erie made it safely to shore but U.S. Coast Guard ships rescued 100 boaters. Four boaters drowned. Most of the damage from the July Fourth storms resulted from extreme rainfall that fell overnight. Total rainfall was 10 to 14 inches from Ottawa County to Wayne County. On the flat, poorly drained land of Ottawa and Sandusky Counties, fields were flooded as far as the eye could see. Record floods were reached on the Huron River, the Vermilion River, and the Black River. Most sections of Ashland and Wayne Counties were flooded and isolated for two days after the flood. Killbuck Creek in Holmes County rose 20 feet to its highest level known.” (Ohio Historical Society. “July 4, 1969: Independence Day Flood.”)

State of Ohio Hazard Mitigation Plan: “Severe thunderstorms moved from Lake Erie into Ohio’s coastal communities on July 4, 1969. Flooding combined with strong wind and tornadoes caused 41 deaths and injured 559 people.” (State of Ohio Hazard Mitigation Plan. Sec. 2, Hazard Identification & Risk Assess, 75.)

Sources

AP (Associated Press). “13 Dead in Ohio; Flood Area Huge.” The Sunday Messenger, Athens, OH. 7-6-1969, p. 1. Accessed 2-29-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/athens-sunday-messenger-jul-06-1969-p-1/

AP (Associated Press). “Ohio Storm-Flood Toll Hits 33.” Salem News, OH, 7-7-1969, p. 1. Accessed 2-29-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/salem-news-jul-07-1969-p-1/

Environmental Data Service. Storm Data, Vol. 11, No. 7, July 1969. EDS, Environmental Science Services Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. Accessed 2-29-2020 at: https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/orders/IPS/IPS-3ACE731E-BA93-4F98-8F93-3A3A7A00A58A.pdf

Grazulis, Thomas P. Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events. St. Johnsbury, Vermont: 1993.

Mosser, Tami. “Flood of ’69: Those who died – 11 or 22 fatalities were of city’s southeast side.” Daily Record, Wooster, OH, 6-30-2019. Accessed 2-29-2020: https://www.the-daily-record.com/news/20190630/flood-of-69-those-who-died—11-of-22-fatalities-were-on-citys-southeast-side

News Journal, Mansfield, OH. “Killer Storms Leave Area Reeling.” 7-5-1969, p. 1. Accessed 2-28-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/ohio-mansfield-news-journal-jul-05-1969-p-1/

Ohio Historical Society. Severe Weather in Ohio. “July 4, 1969: Independence Day Flood.” Accessed 2-28-2020 at: http://ohsweb.ohiohistory.org/swio/pages/content/1969_flood.htm

Schmidlin, Thomas W. and Jeanne Appelhans Schmidlin. Thunder in the Heartland: A Chronicle of Outstanding Weather Events in Ohio. Kent State University Press, 1996, 362 pages. Partially digitized by Google at: http://books.google.com/books?id=QANPLARGXFMC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false

State of Ohio Emergency Management Agency. State of Ohio Hazard Mitigation Plan. Section 2, Hazard Identification & Risk Assessment, p. 74. Accessed 10/3/2009 at: http://ema.ohio.gov/Documents/OhioMitigationPlan/SOHMP_Sec_2_2.pdf

Sunday Messenger, Athens OH. “Worker Crushed by Rock when Lightning sets off Dynamite Blast.” 7-6-1969, p. 1. Accessed 2-29-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/athens-sunday-messenger-jul-06-1969-p-1/

UPI (United Press International), Cleveland. “And The Toll Grows…” Defiance Crescent-News, OH, 7-7-1969, p. 3. Accessed 2-29-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/defiance-crescent-news-jul-07-1969-p-3/

UPI (United Press International). “Twisters Rip Top of State, 8 Dead.” News Journal Mansfield, OH, 7-5-1969, p. 1. Accessed 2-28-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/ohio-mansfield-news-journal-jul-05-1969-p-1/