Heavy Rain Floods Roads Near Millersburg, Prompting Holmes County Travel Warnings

State Route 39 near Millersburg was under water Saturday morning after Killbuck Creek climbed to 17.2 feet, more than two feet above its flood stage of 15.0 feet, as the April 4-5 storm cycle pushed runoff into already saturated lowlands across Holmes County.

The Holmes County Sheriff's Office, led by Sheriff Timothy W. Zimmerly, released a list of routes closed or experiencing high water as conditions deteriorated through the weekend. Among the impassable roads: Township Roads 91 and 92, County Roads 621 and 622, and State Route 60 south. South Washington Street in Millersburg also saw significant standing water, with aerial images from Dobbins Aerial Photography documenting the extent of the inundation in the city. Millersburg police issued a separate caution advisory urging drivers to avoid both corridors.

In the Village of Killbuck, the creek's rise above 17 feet flooded private property on Water Street and rendered State Route 520 and County Road 621 impassable near the village center.

The flooding developed after flash flood conditions on April 3, when the National Weather Service in Cleveland issued a warning as local law enforcement reported between one and two inches of rain falling across the county within hours. Rapid creek and stream rises were reported from Millersburg to Berlin, Walnut Creek, Killbuck, Holmesville, Farmerstown, Winesburg, Charm, and Mount Hope. By 6 a.m. Friday the creek gauge at Killbuck already read 16.3 feet; it reached 17.2 feet by 11 a.m. Sunday.

The National Weather Service extended a moderate flood warning for Killbuck Creek, affecting both Holmes and Wayne counties, until early Thursday morning. County emergency management and Sheriff's dispatch coordinated road closure information with township road departments as conditions changed.

Killbuck Creek follows a predictable pattern during spring storms: township and farm roads flood first as saturated soils shed rainfall quickly into the watershed, followed by low-water crossings and county routes. Holmes County's 283 bridges and hundreds of culverts along creek tributaries amplify that vulnerability when multiple storm systems arrive in a short window.

Residents near creek lowlands or on township roads were advised to protect property and livestock, obey posted road closure signs, and monitor updates from the National Weather Service at weather.gov/cle. Road problems can be reported to the Holmes County Sheriff at 330-674-1936.