Article published June 23, 2006
WET AND WILD
Area bails out from storms; Lucas County to be declared a disaster area as mayor vows aid
Traffic moves with caution along a flooded road south of Sandusky. High water covered many roads across northwest Ohio.
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By ROBIN ERB
BLADE STAFF WRITER
In her West Toledo home yesterday, a gaping hole exposed Nicole Vindas’ basement, where, inside, clothes, tools, and furniture floated in murky water.
In Carl Geniac’s North Toledo yard, a hulking tree lay in chunks on his fence, in his flowers, and on his sport utility vehicle.
“I was watching TV [Wednesday] night when it sounded like something exploded,” Mr. Geniac said. “Now … I have this monster in my yard.”
Many Toledo-area residents yesterday awoke to hazy heat and dry sidewalks, but pockets of the area remained water-logged and tangled by trees and debris after Wednesday’s deluge.
The news would only get worse: Sporadic downpours moved through the region during the afternoon.
A storm yesterday destroyed a hangar at the Lima-Allen County Airport near Lima, Ohio.
The National Weather Service reported about 5 inches of rain drenched northwest Ohio between about 7 p.m. and midnight Wednesday.
No serious injuries were reported, although at least a dozen people were treated for carbon monoxide poisoning related to Wednesday night’s storm.
Lucas County Emergency Management Agency spent yesterday assessing damage. Its report today could be the first step in releasing emergency funds.
County commissioners have planned a special meeting this morning to declare the county a disaster area.
The county would be eligible for funds if 25 homes were documented to have at least 40 percent of the structure damaged and the owners did not have sufficient insurance to cover the expenses, said Tina Skeldon Wozniak, president of the commissioners.
Meanwhile, Mayor Carty Finkbeiner promised help to those whose Toledo homes sustained “significant damage.”
Laura Sanchez surveys the mess in her basement at 4346 Burnham Avenue. Pumps were busy extracting water from many West Toledo basements yesterday.
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He vowed to have city officials return to those neighborhoods in the next 14 days to check on recovery efforts.
The city might be able to offer financial help to residents whose damage is covered neither by their private insurance nor assistance from EMA funds, he said.
“This is part of our family,” the mayor said as he walked down a watery Crawford Avenue in West Toledo, where hoses snaked across muddy sidewalks and pumps spat out dirty water that ran down driveways.
“I don’t want any part of our family hurt. If we can take some of that hurt away, we will,” he said.
In Perrysburg Township, Rob Hittler and his wife, Kristie Lanzotti, watched helplessly as brown water inched its way up the white-carpeted staircase from their basement.
It was the fifth time they’d been flooded since buying the house in 2002, and they had five pumps going when the storm hit.
“With five, you should be able to pump out the Titanic,” Mr. Hittler said, pausing, “And it still flooded in!”
Said Fred Susor, superintendent of Penta Career Center: “I think we were at a point where there was so much water it couldn’t go anywhere.”
Four to eight inches of water remained on the first floor at Penta’s high school yesterday afternoon, he said.
Even the Greater Toledo Area Chapter of the American Red Cross began the day without phone service because of minor flooding at their Central Avenue office, said Kristen Cajka, the agency’s spokesman.
The water was just enough to temporarily snuff out their office phones, she said.
Mayor Carty Finkbeiner, left, and Fire Chief Mike Bell talk to Jill Badger outside her home, where a basement wall fell in.
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Trees toppled
Calls were diverted to the United Way’s 211 hot line.
The Red Cross opened an emergency shelter at Toledo’s Start High School yesterday afternoon. By 9 last night, three people were considering using the facilities.
Maumee reported minor street flooding, and Sylvania reported downed tree limbs.
In Waterville, trees were toppled and some village residents were without power for several hours. Oregon police closed several roads because of flooding and backed-up sewers.
Still, much of the area was amazingly dry and streets were clear by mid-morning.
Given Mother Nature’s often-deadly wrath, Mr. Finkbeiner said, “we all better count our blessings.”
The storms moved in during dinner time Wednesday, flooding streets, closing businesses, and — in a few homes — buckling the walls by nightfall.
On Crawford Avenue, water quickly filled the street, pushing back onto brick foundations, and seeping into basements.
Ms. Vindas said she looked downstairs about 10:30 p.m., drawn by a persistent banging noise. It was the dryer as it floated and crashed into the washer.
“Then I heard this noise, this creaking,” she said.
Water suddenly sprayed between the blocks. Moments later, the foundation collapsed — outside water gushing in.
Yesterday, the water sloshed in the grass beneath her as she shifted her weight while her 3-year-old daughter Skylar squirmed in her arms.
They’d sleep at her boyfriend’s parents’ home for now, but they didn’t have insurance, she said: “I don’t know what we do now — I just don’t know.”
Authorities urged caution to those residents trying to clean up, reminding them not to walk in water near electricity, enter severely damaged structures, or allow children to play in flood water.
Two Rossford families suffered carbon monoxide poisoning from generators they’d run to empty out their basements, Fire Chief Jim Verbosky said.
Eric and Lisa Hutchins and their children, Andrew, 13, and Ireland, 4, all of 537 Woodland Drive, were in fair condition in Toledo Hospital.
Mrs. Hutchins called 911 after waking up and realizing the entire family was ill. A generator had run most of the night in their basement and the windows were closed, the chief said.
“They’re pretty sick,” he said. “They’re lucky they weren’t killed, actually.”
A second couple was treated at their home, the chief said.
In Springfield Township, a carbon monoxide leak that originated at Pride Dry Cleaners, 6811 Spring Valley Drive, sent eight people to Toledo Hospital.
Employees at Pride Dry ran two boilers yesterday morning without noticing that a venting stack had been shaken loose during the storm.
That caused a buildup of carbon monoxide, Rick Helminski, Springfield Township assistant fire chief, said.
“As the boilers were operating … nobody realized it had broken,” he said.
The fire department was called about 1:30 p.m. after Columbia Gas of Ohio workers got carbon monoxide readings in the “lower explosive limit,” Chief Helminski said.
In all, eight employees of businesses in the strip mall complained of headaches and nausea. Their conditions were not available.
Stacie Howard scrapes mud from the driveway of the
home she shares with Jill Badger on West Crawford Avenue.
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Danger, inconvenience
There were other risks too.
Toledo firefighters spent much of yesterday on soggy streets, reminding residents not to pump their basements until the groundwater on the other side of the walls receded, Deputy Fire Chief Bob Metzger said.
Crews also advised residents with electrical panels submerged in floodwater to shut off power until the panel can be cleaned or replaced. Corroded panels can prevent electricity from flowing easily, creating resistance, heat, and a fire, he said.
About 20 health department inspectors fanned out across Lucas County yesterday to make sure area restaurants and other businesses that had flooded weren’t improperly serving food in dangerous conditions, said Alan Ruffell, director of environmental health at the Toledo-Lucas County health department.
Even for those whose homes and businesses remained intact, the storm caused plenty of commotion.
The rain Wednesday soaked locations along a 120-mile-long yard/barn/garage sale that stretches along the historical Old Territorial Road, beginning on Erie Street in Sylvania and ending in Elkhart, Ind.
Yesterday, participants were a little slower setting up as they dried off sale items, said Dave Blesing, who came up with the idea for the highway/buyway sale.
It wasn’t nearly as soggy as it might have been in the Lyons area in Fulton County where he lives.
“We didn’t get as much rain. We got 2¼ inches,” he said.
In West Toledo, Joe Kusz and his neighbors had plenty more to worry about.
His Burnham Avenue home was flooded in a 2000 storm, and now he had several feet of water in his basement again.
“They’re supposed to have meetings and they make promises,” said Mr. Kusz, referring to Toledo officials.
“But there’s nothing. All we have is sewers that can’t handle it all,” he said.
But what happened Wednesday was simply “too much, too quick,” said Bob Williams, Toledo’s utilities director.
More specifically, a retention pond at Bowman Park simply couldn’t handle the unrelenting downpour that affected West Toledo, other city officials said.
“I don’t care how good the ditches are or how big the pipes are,” Mr. Williams said. “I’m not sure any of that was going to make a difference.”
Staff writers Erica Blake, Christina Hall, Eric Lund, Ignazio Messina, JC Reindl, Elizabeth Shack, and Jim Sielicki contributed to this report.
Contact Robin Erb at: robinerb@theblade.com or 419-724-6133.
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