Debby dumps a deluge, summer storm spikes Night Out, kills power

Thanks to BGNN Facebook follower Jerri Lynn for sharing this flooding photo of 15th Street in front of the mobile home park.

By BOB MOREHEAD

BGNN senior staff writer

So much for the moderate drought northeast Ohio had been suffering for about six weeks. In a period of three days Aug. 6-8, a pair of unrelated weather incidents dumped tons of water on the region.

Barberton Fire Chief Stephen Ionno said the fire department responded to 44 calls for service between Aug. 8 at 8:30 p.m. to Aug. 9 at 1:30 a.m.

“We had 15 EMS calls, eight wires down/electrical, two fire alarms, 33 flooding and one boat rescue,” he said.

By the afternoon of Aug. 9, the Magic City was still trying to fully assess the damage from the remnants of Hurricane Debby the day before.

“Still assessing things but we did open an Emergency Operations Center at approximately 9:30 p.m. and closed it approximately 1:30 a.m. Friday,” Barberton Mayor William Judge told BGNN. “We had crews battle the flash flooding throughout town, power outages which included traffic signals, abandoned vehicles and other related items. The water receded quicker than I’ve ever seen it in the past, which tells me that our storm water mitigation projects are working. We received just under 5 inches of rain in a short period of time and our crews did a great job addressing the many issues we faced.”

The receding floodwaters leave scores of property damage victims in their wake. What help is available for them is still being processed.

“We are working with those at the county to see what programs are available for the city and its residents,” Judge said. “FEMA could be an option, still looking into it. We are also looking at ways we can help our residents with clean-up efforts.”

County Councilwoman Bethany McKenney and Barberton Area Community Ministries worked with Leach’s Meats and Sweets to provide sandwiches and drinking water to flood victims Aug. 9. The Summit County Emergency Management Agency urged all residents and businesses in the county to self-report their flood damage. Verified reports will be forwarded to the state Emergency Management Agency to determine if any supplemental financial assistance will be available. On electronic devices, download the Summit EMA app at https://apps.myocv.com/share/a49644308 and tap “Damage Report. Otherwise, go to https://tinyurl.com/Summit-Aug082024 to fill out the report form.

The Summit County Fiscal Officer is offering property tax relief for flood victims. Go to fiscaloffice.summitoh.net and click the “Damaged Property” link, download, print, and fill out the form and mail it back to the fiscal office by Dec. 31. Taxable property valuation will be reduced by a percentage of the assessed damage value.

“Still recovering from the Aug. 6 storms, the city of Norton faced an additional challenge on the night of Aug. 9, when nearly seven inches of rain fell in a brief period,” Norton Fire Chief Mike Schultz said. “Shortly after 9 p.m., Norton Fire and Police began receiving a surge of calls reporting high water, flooded roadways and homes and stranded motorists. In response, safety forces were quickly mobilized. A unified command post was established at the fire station, where fire, police and service crews quickly devised a plan to assist trapped motorists, close impassable streets, and check on residents stranded in their homes. By 1 a.m., safety crews had completed the necessary tasks and operations returned to normal.

“Thankfully, there were no injuries to civilians or safety personnel. Assessing total property damage, conducting cleanup and gathering information regarding potential FEMA relief will take several days. The Fire Division has a limited number of pumps available for public use. Norton residents experiencing basement flooding are encouraged to call Norton Fire at 330-825-3086 for assistance.”

This was the second punch of a two-fisted combo. As what was left of Debby wrought havoc in the Mid-Atlantic region Aug. 6, the Barberton Norton area had its own weather problems to contend with. A powerful cold front rolled through, dropping temperatures, dumping rain, triggering tornado warnings and toppling trees, which in turn cut power for thousands.

“We’ve experienced some power outages across the community,” Judge told BGNN after that storm. “Downed tree limbs and scattered debris due to the wind, but no major damage and no reports of flooding. The rain rate was approximately 1 inch per hour.”

Judge said the storm came and left quickly and spared the myriad construction projects dotting the Magic City any damage.

A few vendors at the Barberton Farmers’ Market suffered damage to their awnings from the gales and Main Street Barberton canceled its long-anticipated National Night Out event out of caution and rescheduled it to Aug. 10 during Second Saturday festivities.

“We had many trees down and electrical power outages,” Norton city administrator Dennis Loughry, whose crews had to close a couple streets that day from downed trees and power lines, said. “Our safety forces and street department employees answered the call as they always do and did excellent jobs respectively and collectively. It was excellent night of teamwork.”