Volunteers from the City of Marietta fill sandbags Wednesday evening for the community. (Photo by Art Smith)

MARIETTA — The First Friday event celebrating Marietta’s founding scheduled for tonight has been postponed due to flooding.

Jen Tinkler, executive director of Marietta Main Street, said the event will be rescheduled.

She said on Wednesday night most of the shops along Front Street had either moved out their merchandise with the help of U-hauls, or moved it up to higher storage rooms within the Front Street buildings.

She said several dozen volunteers came down to lend a hand and everything went smoothly.

“It was amazing to see,” Tinkler said.

Sandbags in front of Riverfront Sports on W. Montgomery Street Thursday morning. (Photo by Art Smith)

She said the main concern for most of the shop owners right now is the clean-up that might follow the high water. She said she knows the community will come together to help support those businesses once that clean-up is completed.

“They’re going to need a good shopping day,” she said.

Williamstown Mayor Paul Jordan said the city is “doing Ok.”

“We were proactive moving stuff,” Jordan said. “We’re hanging on, hanging in there and just waiting.”

Jordan said he was impressed and proud with the city workers who helped to get things prepared for the rising water. He said W.Va. 14 has been closed due to high water and that the Williamstown Bridge was shut down late Thursday afternoon due to conditions on the Ohio side of the river.

Sandbags in front of the Green Acres store on Front Street Wednesday evening. (Photo by Art Smith)

“We’re working hand-in-hand with Marietta,” Jordan said.

Calls to the Marietta mayor’s office and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office were not returned Thursday. A post on the sheriff’s Facebook page said the National Weather Service has canceled the flood warning for the Muskingum River at McConnelsville affecting Morgan and Washington counties and that the river has crested and was expected to continue to fall to below action by Thursday night.

“We have been having an abundance of calls,” Washington County Emergency Management Agency Administrative Assistant Crystal Schau said.

She said the calls are for people needing help to get out of their homes or finding a place to stay, how to reroute when traveling roads, what roads are closed and where to find sand and bags. Schau said the river was not expected to crest until around midnight on Friday and will rise to about 40.3 feet.

“We do have a lot of road closings,” Schau said about the state of roads in the county.

Isaac Ventura pushes his bike through flood waters along the River Trail next to Post Street in downtown Marietta Thursday morning. (Photo by Art Smith)

A post on the Marietta Ohio Facebook said on Thursday Third and Fourth streets at Butler and Second Street at Butler were both closed and said Pike Street would be closing soon in both directions.

Washington County Commissioner James Booth said he was out Wednesday night helping business owners in Marietta move their stuff to higher ground.

“I’ve just been seeing everybody help each other,” Booth said about Marietta.

A release from the Marietta Community Foundation said those looking to make a financial donation to help those facing financial hardships due to severe weather or unforeseen emergencies can visit www.mcfohio.org/hardship to make a donation or send a contribution to Marietta Community Foundation, 100 Putnam Street, Marietta, OH 45750.

“Every donation, no matter the size, makes a difference and helps us provide essential assistance,” the release said.

Business owners are prepping for possible flood waters in Marietta. There were sandbags at Cole Tire & Supply on Greene Street on Thursday at around 8:40 a.m. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)

It said for those looking to volunteer their time to the many business owners in Marietta with cleaning out basements and moving inventory to higher ground to contact Marietta Main Street at info@mariettamainstreet.org

“Your support as a volunteer will be invaluable in ensuring our community remains resilient and prepared,” it said.

On the West Virginia side of the river, Gov. Jim Justice extended a State of Emergency to include Barbour, Brooke, Hancock, Marshall, Ohio, Wetzel, and Wood counties because of flooding and ongoing storm-related threats. He also issued a State of Preparedness for all 55 counties on Tuesday, which is still in effect.

The Ohio River is projected to crest at 40.4 feet at Parkersburg on today, according to the National Weather Service.

Douglass Huxley can be reached at dhuxley@newsandsentinel.com

Water pools Thursday morning behind Marietta Wine Cellars on Second Street in Marietta due to heavy rains the last few days. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)

Michelle Dillon can be reached at mdillion@newsandsentinel.com

A car is surrounded by water on south Third Street under the Williamstown Bridge on Thursday morning. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)

A street closed sign sits at south Third Street. The street is closed for high water nearwhere it runs under the Williamstown Bridge. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)