The August 2024 Flash Flood and Summit County Basements

On the evening of August 8, 2024, the National Weather Service Cleveland office says moisture from Tropical Storm Debby and a stationary surface trough produced torrential rain over Wayne, Summit, Portage and Geauga counties. Totals were generally 3 to 5 inches, with higher pockets.

Town by town. The weather service's rain reports included 6.98 inches at Hudson, 4.86 inches just east-southeast of Cuyahoga Falls, 4.76 inches at Barberton and 2.22 inches at Fairlawn. The office reported at least two dozen water rescues in the Cuyahoga Falls and Akron area, and that hundreds if not thousands of basements flooded in Summit County.

In Akron. Signal Akron reported the Merriman Valley and parts of the west side among the hardest hit, including a home with at least two feet of water in the basement that came through cracks in the walls.

What it tested. A storm like that overwhelms gutters, fills window wells and pushes groundwater against the walls in a few hours, and it can also surcharge sewers. A sump pump that is undersized or has no backup fails exactly then. Homes that flooded through the floor drain need a different fix: see backwater valves.

After the water. EPA says materials dried within 24 to 48 hours will in most cases not grow mold. Photograph everything before cleanup and call your insurer.