The Little Duck Creek that cuts through several residential neighborhoods of Fairfax barely mustered a trickle Friday, a far cry from earlier this week, when the small waterway rose to reach living room windows and flood basements.

        And though the water was gone, there was plenty of damage for Gov. Bob Taft and other local and area politicians to survey.

        “We are determined to assess the situation promptly, and provide the assistance needed,” said Mr. Taft, a native of Cincinnati, after a tour of mud-caked Simpson Avenue and homes where entire foundation walls collapsed.

Gov. Bob Taft points to where water went, and Esther Crabtree points to where it came from Friday on Simpson Avenue in Fairfax. (Brandi Stafford photo) | ZOOM |

        Mr. Taft, a Republican in his first term, has declared a state of emergency in Hamilton and Butler counties after Tuesday night and early Wednesday's flash flooding, which claimed three lives and damaged about 550 homes and 20 businesses in Ohio alone.

        Among Friday's developments, Mr. Taft made $1.5 million available in emergency funds. Residents need to have a pregnant woman or minor child living in the affected house to qualify for up to $1,500 in weather-related expenses.

        U.S. Rep. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said he had received assurances from the Army Corps of Engineers that they would fast-track a new survey of Little Duck Creek, after Friday's application by Fairfax Mayor Ted Shannon and Columbia Township Administrator Ben Dotson.

        Mr. Taft and Mr. Portman, whose district was among the hardest hit by the flooding, both said that the U.S. Small Business Administration would begin assessing the damage Monday.

        If officials find that 25 or more homes sustained un- insured damage worth more than 40 percent of the property's value, then residents in the two counties could receive low- interest loans.

        “We think there is a good probability they will find that,” Mr. Taft said, adding that communities such as Fairfax that used “extraordinary funds” could apply for reimbursement.

        Mr. Taft also said that he was making emergency grants of up to $14,400 available to victims who do not qualify for the business administration loans, and was having the state Department of Health send extra tetanus serum to Hamilton County as a precaution.

        The U.S. Senate also passed an energy and water spending bill that includes $2.7 million for flood control and prevention along Duck Creek.

        The bill would also provide $3 million for flood control along Mill Creek, $476,000 for the west fork of Mill Creek Lake and $100,000 for an Ohio riverfront study, with the funding coming at the request of several Tristate lawmakers.

        The bill still needs to get through a conference committee before making it to President Bush, but Mr. Portman sounded optimistic.

        “We need to make sure that this never happens again,” Mr. Portman said.

        As for the extent of the damage, Butler County suffered $1 million worth of road damage alone in Tuesday's storm, according to Chris Petrocy, spokesman for the Butler County engineering department.

        But Ohio Emergency Management Agency director Dale Ship- ley said that since most of the damage was to the interior of residences, a total dollar figure on damages will be hard to come by.

        “This time, we didn't get the damage to the big-dollar stuff, the roads, bridges and public buildings,” Mr. Shipley said. “This wasn't as widespread as in the past, but it was still bad in spots.”

        And one of those spots was the Fairfax neighborhood neighborhood just off Columbia Parkway.

        Divots were missing from concrete foundation walls. Chain link fences were caved in and covered in debris. More damage was to be found inside. Foundations on five houses along Simpson Avenue failed or collapsed entirely.

        And as the afternoon became muggier and more oppressive under the light stink of dried sewer mud, residents continued to fill up trash bins with ruined furniture and clothing, waiting for contractors, insurance adjusters and emergency officials to provide their assessments of the damage.

        “They told me to stay out of my house, because the foundation may not be safe, but I've got to do something,” said Teresa Hall, 36, whose home sits behind her mother Mary's, where belongings ranging from shoes to carpets were piled on the front yard. “And no one is going to do it for me. I can only sit for so long in the Red Roof Inn.”

        The damage on Simpson Avenue came swiftly. Fairfax Police Sgt. Jeff Branson said he was patrolling the area Tuesday night, and had told residents in the low-lying neighborhood that a flash-flood warning was in place.

        He went to check on another area three blocks away, and when he returned three minutes later, the creek had risen 6 feet and was overflowing a bridge.

        “We knew it was coming, but we didn't know how fast it would get here,” Sgt. Branson said. “It was amazing. We're lucky we didn't have anyone hurt around here.”

       Enquirer reporters Cindi Andrews and Derrick DePledge contributed to this story.
       
       

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