Summit County residents have been dealing with the remnants of Hurricane Debby lately, with more intense storms hitting the area overnight Thursday and into early Friday.
These storms came days after area tornados and rain knocked out power to over 400,000 residents in Northeast Ohio .
Heavy rainfall flooded Summit County roads and homes overnight Thursday, as over four inches of rain accumulated in the region, bringing traffic to a standstill.
On Friday afternoon, Gov. Mike DeWine issued a proclamation formally directing state agencies to be ready to offer further assistance to local communities impacted by the storms.
DeWine ordered and authorized "all State departments and agencies to be at the ready and to utilize their personnel and resources as necessary to protect the lives, safety, health, and property of the citizens of Ohio and to assist with recovery efforts in communities impacted by this severe weather event if needed and requested by local authorities."
Fire District Chief Scott Pascu says that they rescued 20 citizens last night from their cars with the help of the Akron police department. They used swift water teams and community response vehicles to safely remove everyone from the high water levels. The rescues varied from the west side of Summit County to Cuyahoga valley areas. They did have a fire rescue where one resident was stuck under a porch but made it out safely. No fatalities were reported.
Ohio EMA has also closely been monitoring developments regarding the damaging storms.
Other agencies who have been requested for help include the Department of Health for medical supplies, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. They have been closely monitoring developments through their regulatory roles overseeing SNAP benefits and electric utilities, respectively. The Ohio EMA will continue to monitor the progress of storm remediation and provide needed assistance that may be requested in the future. They will continue assisting as long as is necessary per the proclamation.
'I don't even know where to start': Business owners, residents react after Akron floods
Flash flooding brings road closures, event cancellations
The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for central Summit County at 9:15 p.m. Thursday that was in effect until early Friday. Affected areas included Akron, Cuyahoga Falls, Barberton, Hudson, Tallmadge and other surrounding communities.
Roads in Akron, Bath, Barberton, Cuyahoga Falls and Silver Lake were closed overnight due to flooding. Cars were reportedly abandoned in roadways and basements were flooded as water rushed through the area.
The NWS said between 3 and 4.5 inches of rain fell as of 9:15 p.m. Thursday evening. Additional rainfall amounts of 1 to 2 inches were possible in the area.
Some drivers had to be rescued after they were trapped in their vehicles, according to Beacon Journal news partner News 5 Cleveland.
Most roads, including Interstate 76 just north of Barberton, have since reopened after being forced to shut down overnight.
A section of Silver Lake Road in Cuyahoga Falls new Newbury Park remained closed after the road buckled between 14th Street and Prange Drive. A crew at the scene Friday morning was assessing the damage.
The John Legend and Cleveland Orchestra concert at Blossom was forced to cancel mid-show as storms hit the area.
Akron road updates
Here are road updates as of 10:45 a.m. Friday, according to Akron Mayor Shammas Malik :
- Manchester Road at Route 76 (Russell Avenue and South Street) is closed
- North Street at Dan Street is open
- Uhler is open from Memorial to Cuyahoga Street
- Merriman Road from Portage Path to Weathervane Lane is open
- Mull Circle and surrounding streets are open
The Goodpark and Mud Run golf courses are closed today due to standing water, according to Malik . The mayor also noted that the 3-1-1 call center is open so that issues can be reported and that 9-1-1 should be used for true emergencies.
Akron Fire rescues dozens of residents stranded in cars, homes
Akron Fire District Chief Scott Pascu said the fire department rescued 20 citizens from their cars Thursday night with the help of the Akron Police Department SWAT Team. They used swift water teams and community response vehicles to safely remove everyone from the high water levels, he added.
"Significant Flash Flooding last night with roads underwater, basements flooded, trees down, wires down, people trapped in their cars in flooded areas, people trapped in houses," said a Facebook post from Akron Fire Fighters Association Local 330. "The Bear Cat vehicle was a game changer for flood response. We appreciate SWAT offering that asset up to us!"
The fire department deployed all its available resources to helping residents during the storm, Akron Fire Chief Leon Henderson said. They worked alongside Akron police as well as police officers from Silver Lake to help manage traffic as well.
The rescues took place from the west side of Summit County to the Cuyahoga Valley. No fatalities were reported.
How to report flood damage to Summit County EMA
If your residence or business experienced damage during Thursday evening's floods, County Executive Ilene Shapiro's office recommends reporting it to the Summit County Emergency Management Agency by Wednesday, Aug. 14.
Doing so would help determine if any financial assistance will be provided to communities and/or residents, according to Shapiro's office.
You can do so by doing the following:
- In the app, click on Damage Report.
- Fill out the form completely to self-report damage.
You can also visit https://tinyurl.com/Summit-Aug082024 to fill out that same form to self-report any flood damage.
Ohio EMA said it has also closely been monitoring developments regarding the damaging storms. It will continue to monitor the progress of storm remediation and provide needed assistance that may be requested in the future.
Other agencies that have been requested for help include the Department of Health for medical supplies the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. They have been closely monitoring developments through their regulatory roles overseeing SNAP benefits and electric utilities, respectively.
FirstEnergy continues effort to restore power
The torrential downpour and flash flooding in Greater Akron Thursday evening did create some more headaches for FirstEnergy.
The power company is still working to restore power for tens of thousands of customers from a line of severe thunderstorms and even four tornadoes that roared across northern Ohio on Tuesday.
During a press conference Friday morning, FirstEnergy Ohio President Torrence Hinton said, about 200,000 customers are still in the dark.
At the peak of Tuesday's storm some 400,000 customers lost power .
"This is an historic event," he said.
FirstEnergy says the last time this many Ohio customers lost power was back in 1993 when some 300,000 were impacted.
Hinton said he too was caught in Thursday's flooding that thankfully did not result in a significant number of customers losing their power.
The impact of the latest extreme weather was more of logistics navigating crews — some from out of state — around flooded and washed-out roads.
Most of the power to Greater Akron customers have been restored, but thousands remain in the dark in hard hit communities like Lakewood, Parma and Mentor where power poles were snapped in two and entire large trees were uprooted.
A few hundred customers in Summit and Portage counties are still without power while all of Medina and most of Wayne County have already been restored.
Hinton said FirstEnergy crews are working 24/7 along with hundreds of workers from other states and private contractors to restore power to those in the dark.
FirstEnergy is even deploying helicopters to pinpoint areas where major transmission lines have been damaged.
While power is constantly being restored, Hinton said, there's still a monumental task ahead as crews work to clear debris just to find the source of the problems.
The goal is to have power restored to roughly 97 percent of customers by Wednesday but he admits it may be longer than that for some.
"We have just seen some extreme damage," he said. "Some of our own employees have been impacted by these storms and they still coming to work."
Drought (technically) continues in Greater Akron
Before the streets turned into rivers and some basements transformed into indoor swimming pools Thursday night, the latest drought map released by the U.S. Drought Monitor just hours earlier showed much of northern Ohio was still pretty parched.
All of Greater Akron is still technically considered to be in a drought with northern Summit County under a moderate drought and the southern half abnormally dry.
This could all change in a week thanks to Thursday's torrential rainfall when the latest national drought map comes out.
Roughly 70% of Ohio is still considered to be in a drought.
Ohio Attorney General's office warns residents of home-repair scams
When it comes time to repairing the damage this severe weather has brought to area residences, home-repair scammers and fake charities soliciting donations on behalf of those affected by the severe weather are lurking in the shadows, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said in a news release.
These contractors are known to travel to storm-ravaged communities and go door-to-door to offer their services to homeowners before completing unsatisfactory work, Yost said.
Here is what the Attorney General's office recommends to do to best protect yourself from scammers:
- Research the business : Ask for identification from the company representative; note the person’s name, address and phone number; and be cautious of any contractor who won’t provide this information. Check out the company’s reputation with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and the Better Business Bureau and ask for references. You can also search for possible previous lawsuits filed by the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Section.
- Get multiple written estimates : Obtaining at least three written estimates from three distinct contractors could help you weed out bad apples.
- Don’t make large payments in advance: Instead, pay in increments – for example, a third at the beginning of the job, a third after half of the work is completed to your satisfaction, and the final third when the job is completed.
- Get all promises in writing : Insist on a written contract detailing the costs, the work to be done, the starting and end dates, and any verbal promises made by the contractor. The contract should also note whether subcontractors will be used and whether the contractor has or will obtain the necessary licenses and permits. Insist on being provided a copy of every document you sign or initial.
- Understand your cancellation rights : If the contract resulted from a door-to-door sale, you generally have three days to cancel the contract, according to Ohio’s Home Solicitation Sales Act. The seller should give you written notice of these rights.
- Consider paying with a credit card : Paying with a credit card, as opposed to paying in cash or by check, generally gives you greater protection to dispute unauthorized charges.
To protect yourself from donating to potential fraudelent charities:
- Visit the Attorney General’s Research Charities webpage to see whether charities have complied with registration requirements, to connect with charity watchdog organizations and to learn what others say about the group. News articles and other postings can also provide useful details about groups, board members and key employees.
- Support familiar, established organizations with a strong track record of success and experience in dealing with natural disasters. Tragedies can sometimes prompt the creation of new charities that may or may not have the needed expertise to provide meaningful relief or run a charity effectively.
Planet Fitness, Giant Eagle helping those affected by storms
Planet Fitness is offering a chance for the public to take showers, charge their phones and access free drinking water as Northeast Ohio recovers from storms and power outages across the region.
Participating locations include:
- Akron - 1533 S Hawkins Ave.
- Alliance - 1200 E State St.
- Barberton - 161 Wooster Rd. N.
- Brook Park - 5755 Smith Rd.
- Canton - 4317 Whipple Ave. NW
- Copley - 120 Rothrock Rd.
- Kent - 1416 S Water St.
- Macedonia - 949 E Aurora Rd.
- Parma - 1846 Snow Rd.
- Stow - 835 Graham Rd.
- Strongsville - 16611 Southpark Center
- Tallmadge - 505 South Ave.
FirstEnergy customers without power can pick up one gallon of ice and two gallons of water for free at any of the following Giant Eagle locations through Aug. 14 or while supplies last:
- Avon Lake - 31990 Walker Rd.
- Broadview Heights - 4343 Royalton Rd.
- Brooklyn - 6300 Biddulph Rd.
- Chesterland - 12692 Chillicothe Rd.
- Cleveland - 7939 Day Dr.
- Elyria - 320 Market Dr.
- Maple Heights - 5321 Warrensville Center Rd.
- Mentor - 8383 Tyler Blvd.
- Middlefield - 15400 West High St.
- North Madison - 6556 North Ridge Rd.
- Parma - 7400 Broadview Rd.
- Strongsville Market District - 15919 Pearl Rd.
- Westlake Market District - 30275 Detroit Rd.
- Willoughby - 36475 Euclid Ave.
What will weather look like in Summit County this weekend?
Here's a look at this weekend's forecast, which does not include any hazardous weather at this time, according to the National Weather Service:
Friday: A chance of showers, mainly before 10 a.m. Cloudy through mid-morning, then gradual clearing, with a high near 81. Northwest wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Fright night: Mostly clear, with a low around 57. West wind 7 to 10 mph.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 76. West wind 7 to 14 mph.
Saturday night: Mostly clear, with a low around 56. West wind 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday : A slight chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 2 p.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 76. West wind 7 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Sunday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 57.
Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 79.
Reporter Anthony Thompson can be reached at ajthompson@gannett.com, or on Twitter @athompsonABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Summit County flooding update: Most Akron roads reopen, Merriman Valley left a muddy mess
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