Suburban Life 07/08/20

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SUBURBAN LIFE Your Community Press newspaper serving Deer Park, Kenwood, Madeira, Sycamore Township and other Northeast Cincinnati neighborhoods

WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2020 | BECAUSE COMMUNITY MATTERS | PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK

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REAL ESTATE

Many more in fl ood danger

Thousands in Greater Cincinnati think they’re safe from fl ood waters. They aren’t. By Hannah K. Sparling, Katie Wedell, Kyle Bagenstose, Dinah Pulver and Kevin Crowe USA Today Network

More than 66,000 properties in Greater Cincinnati are at risk of fl ooding – double the number recorded by the federal government, according to a new modeling tool released June 29. The new nationwide tool paints a picture of the U.S. as a country woefully under-prepared for damaging fl oods, both now and in the future. In Ohio as a whole, 493,012 properties are at risk of fl ooding, according to the new model, more than double the federal government’s estimate of 219,885. In Kentucky, the federal government says 96,807 properties are at risk of fl ooding compared to the new estimate of 227,003. Experts say the analysis is the latest evidence of a decades-long bungling of fl ood planning and policy at multiple levels of government across the country. And it presents diffi cult new questions about who will pay billions of dollars to save communities from going underwater: homeowners, towns and cities, or the U.S. taxpayer? “Who is going to pay and how we are going to pay, is the ultimate question,” said A.R. Siders, a professor at the University of Delaware’s Disaster Research Center. The new analysis was conducted by the First Street Foundation, a nonprofi t organization that paired dozens of scientists and engineers with researchers from academic institutions. The team combined several existing models of sea level rise, riverine fl ooding, and simulations of extreme weather events into a single, nationwide fl ood assessment model that examined risk in all states

Loveland Canoe & Kayak Outfi tters on East Broadway St. in Loveland is flooded by the Little Miami River. PHIL DIDION/THE ENQUIRER

except Alaska and Hawaii. While insurance and investment companies have long used their own private models to make decisions, First Street conveyed its fi ndings in a report released June 29 and is giving academic researchers access to the data. The modeling performed by the group is “exactly what we need to be doing,” said Kerry Emmanuel, a professor of atmospheric science at MIT who serves on First Street’s advisory board. “Until recently we didn’t have people putting all these little pieces together,” he said. “We had really good people

working on that little piece of the problem and good people working on another little corner.” If nothing else, the new data can help people accurately understand their risk so they can properly prepare and insure their homes and businesses, said Rich Cogen, executive director of the Cincinnati-based Ohio River Foundation. Flood damage is not covered under regular homeowner’s insurance, Cogen said, but many people don’t know that. “Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t fi nd out until that fi rst claim,” he said.

Flooding in Hyde Park In Greater Cincinnati – including Hamilton, Butler, Warren and Clermont counties in Ohio and Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties in Kentucky – 66,566 properties are at risk, according to First Street’s data. That's 38,347 more than are included in the government’s estimates. In Cincinnati, specifi cally, First Street says more than 16,000 properties are at risk, nearly one in every 10, comSee FLOOD, Page 3A

Netfl ix series fi lmed at Summit Hotel in Madisonville Randy Tucker Cincinnati Enquirer USA TODAY NETWORK

The Summit Hotel in Madisonville is one of the locations for Netfl ix's new "Say I Do'' series, which was scheduled to premiere on July 1. The eight-episode series fi lmed in diff erent states throughout the Midwest will follow couples as they overcome obstacles to plan a surprise dream wedding in less than a week. Interior designer, Jeremiah Brent, fashion designer, Thai Nguyen, stylist Johnny Wright and chef Gabriele Bertaccini will assist the couples in planning and designing their weddings. “One of the highest honors we have in the hotel business is to help a couple celebrate their love with an extraordinary wedding,” said Martin Pittman, vice president of operations. The Summit episodes will culminate with a lavish wedding on the hotel's rooftop terrace. The Summit - a Wyndham-owned hotel that opened in 2018 is located at 5345 Medpace Way in a building that was once the NuTone door chime factory and later Medpace's rainbow parking garage. The 239-room hotel is full of art and modern architectural fi nishes, including the round concrete pillars from the original building and a soaring atrium. And there are three dining spaces open to the public.

How to submit news

A king room at the new Summit Hotel.

The "Monumental Staircase" in the lobby at the new Summit Hotel in the Madisonville neighborhood of Cincinnati on April 18, 2018. PHOTOS BY SAM GREENE/THE ENQUIRER

To submit news and photos to the Community Press/Recorder, visit the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Share website: http://bit.ly/2FjtKoF

Contact The Press

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The hotel features nine floors of rooms.

Vol. 57 No. 18 © 2020 The Community Recorder ALL RIGHTS RESERVED $1.00

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