Columbiana Co. victims, call hot line

County officials are keeping an eye on flooding in Beaver County, Pa.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- Residents who were affected by flooding Wednesday and Thursday should call the county's Help Hotline to make a disaster claim, not the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Jay Carter, director of the Columbiana County Emergency Management Agency, said making calls to FEMA will be fruitless because the federal government has not yet declared Columbiana County a disaster area.
Carter said local EMA officials are trying to funnel all the calls for assistance through Help Hotline at (330) 424-7767.
State disaster area
In the meantime, Gov. Bob Taft has declared Columbiana County a state disaster area based on a disaster declaration made by Columbiana County commissioners.
Carter said state agencies such as the Ohio Department of Transportation and Ohio Job and Family Services can now provide flood recovery assistance to the County.
Carter said the governor must first grant a state disaster declaration before he can request a federal disaster declaration.
Carter and other EMA officials are working today on a proposal for the Aug. 27-29 flooding and Wednesday and Thursday events to be included in the same federal disaster declaration so that federal officials won't have to review the two flooding events separately.
Requests so far
As of Thursday afternoon, about 80 families had requested assistance from the overnight flooding, Carter said.
He said since the Aug. 27-29 flooding, more than 600 families have requested help.
Carter said the Columbiana County Job and Family Services department has funds available to assist flood victims. Residents 55 or older or who have minor children in the home can request funding to replace appliances such as stoves, refrigerators or washers and dryers destroyed in flooding, he said.
Job and Family Services phone number is (330) 424-1471 ext. 220.
In Pa.
During a press conference Thursday, EMA officials received news about flooding in Darlington, Pa., across the Pennsylvania state line from Columbiana County. Carter said Beaver County, Pa. officials would close Pennsylvania state Route 51 near Darlington because of flooding.
Creeks and streams in Beaver County, Pa., flow into the Little Beaver Creek and the Ohio River. Officials first said a dam in Darlington had broken, but they later determined that the flooding was from runoff of rainwater from the saturated ground.
Carter said the Pennsylvania flooding could affect Columbiana County, particularly in areas along the Little Beaver Creek and the Ohio River. He said East Liverpool and Wellsville officials are watching the Ohio River and keeping in contact with him.
The Wellsville area is a low point along the river and is usually first to flood if the river goes above flood stage, Carter said. He said if the river begins to reach flood stage, then Wellsville officials will work to close Wellsville's flood gates.
Relief efforts
Regarding flood relief efforts, Carter said the Lisbon United Methodist Church is the site of the Red Cross shelter for anyone who is forced to leave their homes because of rising floodwater. He said there is still plenty of bottled water available for flood victims.
He said the Red Cross also has cleanup kits to assist families in cleaning their homes after floodwaters recede.
In Leetonia the residents on the southwest side of the village watched as volunteer firefighters tried to pump the water from their basements. Fire Chief Ken Garlough said firefighters had worked through the night and well into Thursday afternoon with about a three-hour break.
Floodwater raced through back yards along the south side of Ridge Street, and firefighters told Garlough the water was racing into basements there faster than they could pump it out.
Will return
Garlough said the water had receded several feet in the area since Thursday morning and they would return to try to pump the basements out again after the water retreated further.
Garlough said most homes on Ridge Street had at least four feet of water in basements. One home on Water Street was completely surrounded by water and the basement flooded to the rafters, he said.
tullis@vindy.com