PORTSMOUTH- Hurricane Helene swept through Scioto County Friday, September 27 and left damage in her wake. Trees fell all over the county, in parks, across power lines, and onto houses and vehicles. Roads suffered from the wear. Pockets of neighborhood were flooded. Wind ripped through properties. Portsmouth may have been hit the hardest and every available city employee was dispatched to assist in some way, including some from nearby areas, such as the five firefighters from New Boston assisting. City Manager had been on alert all weekend and spent the following days evaluating the damage, having high praise for the city staff.

“The damage was sporadic. Some areas got hit harder than other areas. The university and High Street took a big hit, water wise. Shawnee, Grandview; we just got inundated with water,” Sutherland said. “The wastewater plant was running at capacity, and it basically could not keep with the big surge we were hit with.”

When water began rising and trees began falling, the Sutherland had a plethora of departments making runs to address concerns.

“First responders, city servicemen were all out doing everything they could to keep the danger at bay, but it caught up with us,” Sutherland said. “With that much rain, it caught up with us. It was not a good situation; it was the perfect storm of bad things happening.”

Water wasn’t the only threat that came along with the storm, with high winds tearing through the area.

“I know we had trees down all over. Mound Park and Greenlawn Cemetery were hit pretty bad,” Sutherland said. “Scherer Hollow got hit pretty hard and those trees were cleared quickly.”

The roads were also damaged, and Sutherland asked for patience as they continue cleanup efforts.

“We know roads, in places, were washed away and we ask for people to be careful as we work on getting those patched,” Sutherland said.

Days after the damage, Sutherland said the city continues to cleanup and evaluate the surroundings.

“We’re still evaluating, with people out there checking for additional damage,” Sutherland said. “We don’t know if we have found everything, but we are working on addressing everything.”

Sutherland gave all credit for the recovery efforts to city staff, who were out during and after the storm helping people and then after to perform cleanup.

“I’ve got good people around me. I wouldn’t be where I am if I didn’t have a good team,” Sutherland said. “The people of Portsmouth should be proud of our men and women in service. I know it is not a good situation but, to me, they did the best they could do. When you get hit with what we got with, it could have been a lot worse.”