'I don't even know where to start': Business owners, residents react after Akron floods

Inside the Noisy Oyster is a time capsule of Thursday’s dinner rush.

Fleeing customers left half-eaten sandwiches, condiment-smeared napkins and watered-down drinks on leaning tables that were pushed askew by the now-settled mud that caked the dining room.

Tree branches and leaves collected around the base of tables and chairs, which were stuck in place.

The Merriman Valley pub was inundated after the skies opened up and dumped nearly 6 inches of rain across a swath of Summit County including Akron, Barberton Cuyahoga Falls, Hudson, Tallmadge and other surrounding communities.

Cars were abandoned in overwhelmed roadways and basements were flooded as remnants of Hurricane Debby churned over the area Thursday night and early Friday.

The storm forced the mid-show cancellation of the John Legend and Cleveland Orchestra concert at Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls.

Noisy Oyster owner Jonathan Curtis’ boots sunk into ankle-deep mud as he crossed the room Friday.

“It was really busy,” Curtis said of the dinner rush before the flood. “But everyone got out OK.”

Summit County flooding update: Most Akron roads reopen, Merriman Valley left a muddy mess

He recalled how customers who sat on an addition that overlooked a creek initially joked about muddy water leaking through the floor.

One couple who ordered a sit-down meal asked for it to-go, so Curtis told his kitchen staff to box it up. But the flood became too much. On Friday, those boxes still sat opened, full of uneaten food.

Inside the kitchen, food littered the preparation stations.

Three burgers were blackened on the grill, including one still squashed by a press. The fryers remained uncleaned, still full of chicken wings and other fried food, abandoned by staff forced to quickly evacuate the restaurant.

“We don’t usually keep it this messy,” Curtis joked.

Brown water and a thin layer of mud covered the kitchen floor. A cooler Curtis just purchased was now in disrepair.

“We tried to unplug things,” he said.

As the restaurant flooded, Curtis recalled standing outside and capturing a video of water flowing out of the front door and into the parking lot. It was one of many tributaries that fed the river that was a flooded Portage Path and Merriman roads.

With the flood over, the Noisy Oyster was left caked in mud and debris. The wooden floors were upended. The foundation, he said, is in questionable condition. He is unsure of the full damage.

Curtis, who has owned the restaurant for eight years, said this was the worst flood he’s experienced.

“I don’t know what’s salvageable,” he said. “I don’t even know where to start.”

Dozens of vehicles left stranded at Weathervane Playhouse

Over two dozen vehicles were stranded, and some were totaled, at the Weathervane Playhouse in the Merriman Valley when the Cuyahoga River flooded into the parking lot.

The surge of water blocked drains with mud and debris Thursday night as parents watched their kids performing “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.”

Lisa Sarafin of Stow and her husband drove separately to watch to their child perform. They both parked closer to the river, she said Friday morning.

The water rose high enough to nearly cover cars, she said. Both of their vehicles were stranded and needed to be towed.

“We were watching the show and the artistic director came and said there was no way out,” Sarafin said.

Between flooding and a fallen tree, even those who could drive their vehicles were stuck until the tree was moved, her husband Richard Sarafin said.

“We got out of the show at like 10 p.m. and a friend picked us up at like 11 p.m.,” he said.

Weathervane Director of Audience Development Keith Campbell said he and his colleagues raced last-minute to figure out how to help the nearly 300 people in attendance, which included volunteers and cast members. In the end, they decided it was best to let them shelter at the theater.

“So, we opened the bar, sold a few beers and had water and coffee,” he said.

As for flood damage at the playhouse, Campbell said, there was little to none — so the show goes on for “Willy Wonka,” which was scheduled for additional performances Friday night and this weekend.

“We will just direct people to park across the street as we clean up the parking lot,” he explained.

Akron couple face damage from yet another flood after 20 years in Wallhaven home

Galen and Charlotte Sievert have lived in their house on Woodbine Avenue in Akron's Wallhaven area for roughly 20 years.

Thursday night's storm flooded their basement, something that’s happened multiple times since they’ve lived there. It happened so fast, Galen said, that the sump pump couldn’t keep up with the water.

Galen said that the water has finally drained from the basement and they’ve contacted Servpro to clean the room. He and his wife are in their 60s, he said, and in no shape to be tackling the job on their own.

Their insurance won’t cover repairs because his policy lacks a flood rider, he said. The cost of repairs will have to come from out of pocket. Galen and his wife are going to have to take off work to deal with the aftermath of the flooding, which means they won’t be getting paid.

On top of that, any of the possessions damaged by the flood won’t be replaced. Previous floods, he said, have cost them heirlooms passed down through generations.

“And I think it's probably because we've lost so much, we just haven't gathered any more of that precious or priceless stuff,” Galen said.

Charlotte said they first experienced flooding at their home in 2008. Then, between 2008 and 2013, there were four or five more. In 2013, their basement wall collapsed. They rebuilt their foundation and had extensive waterproofing work done by Pioneer Basement Solutions.

"I shudder to think how many tens of thousands of dollars we've had to pay out because of this situation," she said.

Previous floods have destroyed three furnaces and two water heaters in the Sievert home. They now suspend the furnace from the ceiling to avoid damage, but it's unclear if the measure worked this time.

"We don't know for sure if our furnace and hot water heater have been destroyed this time, but right now they don't seem to be functioning," Charlotte said, adding that they do have power.

The flooding is giving them second thoughts about where they're living, Charlotte said.

“We wonder if we’re gonna have to walk away from this house and have it be a complete loss, actually, because why would anybody buy this house?” she said.

The Sieverts wish that someone from the city would come speak with them about their problem.

Galen questions why the city is allowing people to live in the area when flooding hasn’t only been a problem for them, but for their next-door neighbors as well.

“Now, we noticed that after the 2013 flood, they started to clean the sewers, and then we didn't have any more problems between about 2013 or 2014 and yesterday,” Charlotte said. “So, I don't know if yesterday was because they aren't maintaining the sewers well enough or not, but you know, just the cleaning them out seemed to have helped for about 10 years.”

Cuyahoga Falls and Barberton hit hard Thursday, but floodwaters receding

Cuyahoga Falls Mayor Don Walters said the flooding was extensive Thursday night but had receded by Friday morning.

He said at least of couple of roads were damaged.

"We have some [damage] at Albertson Parkway and Portage Trail West," he said.

That section of Portage Trail had been reworked with new guardrails. Walters said the guardrails were damaged and will need to be redone, but the road was clear Friday.

The mayor said a section of Silver Lake Avenue near Norma Street that buckled will have to be cut up and redone.

Walters said the floods were intense, with some cars getting trapped in up to 3 feet of water. The area of Graham Road near Menard's was one of the city's worst-hit Thursday night.

"Overall, the water has receded and the damage is done, but most of it is in basements," he said.

On Friday morning, a few cars abandoned in the flooding remained to be towed. The city was trying to contact the owners.

He said city crews were out during the flooding, rescuing people from vehicles and blocking flooded roads. The flooding came quickly and unexpectedly for some drivers.

"During the heat of the storm, you probably couldn't see and all of a sudden you're in 3-foot-deep water," he said.

In Barberton, county Councilwoman Bethany McKenney was preparing Friday morning to make calls with the Barberton Area Community Ministries to bring food.

"We're going to take the BACM truck out and are picking up sandwiches from Leach's [Meats & Sweets]," she said.

McKenney said she had received multiple calls from individuals with flooded homes.

"I'm getting a lot of messages from Barberton and a few from Norton," she said.

One person on her route told McKenney he had 2 feet of water in his living room and bedrooms.

Mayor William Judge said Friday that the city received just under 5 inches of rain, leading to power outages and significant flash flooding. He put together an emergency operations center around 9:30 p.m. Thursday to handle flooding issues. He said a number of roads had to be closed, but like other areas, the standing water receded quickly in most areas.

Judge said the downpour led to flooding in parts of the city that hadn't flooded before, and some areas that had been damaged by flooding in 2019 and 2013 weren't significantly affected. He said a years-long storm mitigation effort helped lessen the damage.

"In this case [compared] to other floods, the water receded quicker than ever before," he said.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: 'I don't even know where to start': Business owners, residents react after Akron floods