When five inches of rain fell on Geauga County in less than two hours July 27, most residents closed their windows and waited out the…
When five inches of rain fell on Geauga County in less than two hours July 27, most residents closed their windows and waited out the storms.
It was a different story for folks who lived in Middlefield and Burton villages and their surrounding townships.
As the rain fell in buckets, sewers couldn’t carry the water away. Driveways washed entirely out, stranding property owners, while basements flooded and one building was washed off its foundation.
Dale Wedge, director of Geauga County Department of Emergency Services, said last Thursday many residents are still recovering from the torrent that soaked Geauga County more than two weeks before, and the work and paperwork to get them back on solid financial ground may take even longer.
The First Alert
Wedge was first alerted by Geauga County Sheriff Dan McClelland to the problem while the rain was still falling.
“When you get a call at 6:36 at night, you know you have a situation,” he told Geauga County Commissioners during a flood debriefing on Aug. 14.
He contacted Tara Vargovich, GCDES deputy director of training, who told him over the phone the water was deep and getting deeper in Grove Manor apartments on Grove Street in Middlefield and at Peckham and Kinsman roads in Burton.
“The water was moving quite rapidly. People couldn’t leave their homes,” said Ken Folsom, GCDES deputy director of planning.
For several hours, GCDES helped get people connected with agencies who could help them.
The following morning, the team began collecting flood damage reports from fire departments and sought out other organizations that might be helpful, Folsom said.
The natural disasters contact with the American Red Cross was unavailable because her community was under a tornado warning and she was in the basement, he said.
So the problem of where to put the dozens of residents forced out of their homes fell to local authorities.
“We needed to get them into some kind of shelter,” he said, crediting commissioners and county Administrator Dave Lair with finding dry quarters for flood victims.
Meanwhile, the run off from the rain was flooding Grove Street behind Middlefield Fire Department and the Rite Aid parking lot.
Swine Creek, usually six inches deep, rose to 15 feet in some places and was
8-feet-wide. The water carried trees away. West High Street and Wood-song Drive flooded, Folsom recounted.
The Middlefield Village Municipal Center, the fire station, and Briar Hill Nursing Home all suffered water damage, while the parking lots of Walmart and CVS were under water.
The apartment complex on Elmar Drive had sewage backflow through the toilets when the infrastructure couldn’t carry excess water away fast enough, he said.
Agencies Coordinate
The GCDES moved its headquarters to Middlefield, coordinating a meeting among about a dozen agencies equipped to help. Communication and collaboration were essential in handling the emergency.
“We had to make sure the communities and their residents got back on their feet again,” Folsom said, crediting many organizations and individuals.
By Monday, most of the water had receded and the damage could be assessed. Geauga County Health District Commissioner Bob Weisdack arranged for a professional disaster recovery business to come in and help, where possible, Folsom said.
The Geauga County Department on Aging provided hot meals to those who couldn’t go home yet.
“Many people didn’t have the money to get a hotel or meals,” Folsom said, adding Tri-County CARE was able to assist.
“We hooked people up with the agencies they needed,” he said.
Western Reserve Disaster Early Response Team, members of which went to help after Hurricane Sandy, leant their expertise to the project of getting help for those in need, Folsom said.
Seniors Polled on Damage
The party wasn’t over.
On Tuesday, the GCDES learned from the county building department that residents of a 20-unit senior apartment were trying to deal with soggy carpets, ruined furniture and more. The road in front of the units had flooded the apartments with several inches of water.
The residents were between 60 and 90 years old and they were trying to clean up and dry out their belongings. Folsom said he met with about 20 people to determine their problems and try to find help for them.
“I’m their buddy, now,” he said, adding the carpets as well as the drywall were soaked.
“They are still in disarray,” Folsom said.
United Way Services of Geauga County served as a gateway for gathering information from the victims, so they didn’t have to talk to 25 different representatives, Folsom said. Geauga County Job and Family Services was also available to help the families.
Folsom said he originally thought it would take a week to get people back on the road to recovery, but last Thursday, he said it will be more than two weeks.
For instance, mold will grow in walls that were soaked, but it might not be obvious until fall, when the furnace starts to run, so the fall out from the flood could take months, he explained.
“It’s a health risk,” he said, adding repairs may fall on the owner.
“A lot of these things are not covered under your insurance,”?Folsom said.
When Lake County floods damaged homes and businesses in July 2013, it took until April 2014 for all the cases to close out, he said.
It took three years before people recovered from the 2006 flood there, Folsom added.
Since July 27, the county has received about 100 calls for assistance related to the disaster, he said.
A Good Track Record
Kimm Leininger, director of the UWSGC, told commissioners experience is a good teacher.
“We’ve been through this with three floods. We have a good, strong system,” she said.
United Way was able to share its database with other agencies to keep the communication flowing.
“Because we’ve done this (in 2006), it really came together so quickly,” she said, adding it wouldn’t be the norm for all counties.
“We have a really, really good track record,” Leininger said.
Jessica Boalt, director of the department on aging, said the home cooked meal program was already in place so her staff and volunteers were able to help on short notice. They also went to seniors’ homes to check furnaces for water and help with clean-up.
McClelland said there were many places throughout the county that suffered damage from the storms and flooding. Traffic was a problem and gravel washed across the roads, making them hazardous even after the waters cleared.
County Commissioner Blake Rear said he went to the meetings and visited areas that had flooded.
“I went to learn and observe and stay out of the way,” he said. “I was very impressed with the agencies. Once a problem was reported, they acted right away.”
Anyone with damage related to the July 27 floods should contact call 2-1-1, Wedge said.
