MAHONING VALLEY Communities begin assessing flood damage

Some parking lots are designed to flood to keep water off streets and out of buildings, an official said.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
Communities in Mahoning and Columbiana counties were assessing damage today after weekend rains flooded streets, buildings and homes.
In Boardman, the waters that flooded township streets Saturday have subsided, and officials are now assessing the damages as businesses and residents attempt to get back to life as usual.
Saturday's downpour was the second in a matter of weeks to flood streets and cause problems in neighborhoods here and throughout the area.
The parking lot of the Best Buy store on Boardman-Poland Road turned into a virtual swimming pool for cars Saturday. Many shoppers tried unsuccessfully to push the cars out of flooded parts of the parking lot -- by this morning tow trucks had taken over that task.
Brian Koniwsky, Best Buy manager, said the water remained outside, giving the store no internal flood damage. By Sunday the parking lot had dried out, and the store was open for business Sunday and today.
Designed to flood
Township trustee Tom Costello said road department officials have explained that newer parking lots such as the one at Best Buy are designed to retain water in flood conditions. He said the rationale is that it is better that the water remain in the parking lot than to flood out into neighboring streets, businesses and homes.
Costello said he has received about a dozen complaints from residents, less than he had expected. He and the other two trustees spent much of Sunday traveling the township and speaking with residents.
Costello said the township is willing to help those hit hardest by flooding, but he admits there may be little township government can do.
Township safety forces closed several roads Saturday because of flooding or rushing waters. Those roads have all been reopened, but officials are looking into a buckled piece of the pavement at Rockland Drive and Glenwood avenue. Costello said a storm sewer pipe running through the intersection may have erupted, pushing the pavement upward.
The large business districts with their acres of paved land and relatively small landscaping, Costello said, might be a factor in the recent flooding, but the main reason is the amount of rainfall.
"You can design retention ponds that can hold so much water, but can they hold what we have had these last several weeks -- the answer is no," he said. "We cannot control the weather, but we can find a way to direct the water away from homes and businesses. That is what we will be looking at today."
Columbiana County
Widespread flooding was reported throughout Columbiana County, with Hanoverton, Guilford Lake, Franklin Square, Leetonia and Salem among the hardest hit areas, local officials said today.
As a result of flooding over the last several weeks, the Federal and Ohio emergency management agencies have set up a disaster recovery center in Hanoverton at Hanoverton School, 8143 state Route 9. The center opened today with hours from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Another center will open Tuesday at 418 Main St. S.W. in Warren. Hours will be the same as the Hanoverton center.
Applicants can talk with specialists in housing assistance programs, get help in applying for Small Business Administration low-interest disaster loans for homeowners, renters and businesses and get information about insurance and advice on how to protect their property from future disasters.
Leetonia officials are still determining damage, but all streets are open and temporary repairs have been made, said Village Administrator Gary Phillips.
He said the Middle Fork of the Little Beaver Creek and Cherry Valley Run flow through the village, and both overflowed.
Village crews had to barricade several streets and are working today to remove debris and repair streets, he said.
Phillips said the health department is providing drinking water to anyone who believes their wells may be contaminated. Anyone who suspects contamination should use the bottled water and have their water tested, he said.
Water is available at the village hall and the fire station. Anyone in need of drinking water must call the village hall at (330) 427-6721 to make arrangements to pick up water, he said.
Library flooded
Salem Public Library officials are still trying to assess the dollar loss caused by the weekend flooding.
Water rose to nearly 20 inches in the library's first-floor children's department, where about 8,000 books were destroyed, George W.S. Hays, library director, said this morning.
The children's department will be closed today and Tuesday. The rest of the library will be open as usual, Hays said.
The library is along East State Street near the intersection with Lincoln Avenue. The crossroad is where much of the flooding in the city was concentrated.
Water there probably rose to three to five feet high, city Service Director Joe Julian said.
All Salem streets were open this morning. Crews are expected today to begin the task of cleaning streets littered with debris washed in by the flooding.
XContributors: Norman Leigh and Nancy Tullis, Vindicator Salem Bureau.
jgoodwin@vindy.com