Flood — Lorain, Ohio

2006-06-22 to 2006-06-23 · near Countywide, Lorain, Ohio

Event narrative

Runoff from heavy thunderstorm rains earlier in the night caused streams and rivers in Lorain County to rapidly rise. By mid-morning evacuations were conducted along the East Branch of the Black River in both Lagrange and Carlisle Townships. A total of ten homes were evacuated. In Lagrange Township, four people had to be rescued by boat from their Vermont Road home. Evacuations were conducted later in the morning in Elyria as the Black River flooded the Greenview Drive area. Water rose to the second floors of 13 homes in this neighborhood. At least one person had to be rescued by boat from the roof of his home. The Black River later crested at 16.9 feet, well above the flood stage of 9.5 feet. Tragically, a 47 year old rescue diver was killed while trying the rescue two teenagers who drove their vehicle into an area flooded by the West Branch of the Black River. This occurred just northwest of Wellington along Pitts Road just after noon. The firefighter was swept off his feet while wading through three to four feet of swift moving water. The firefighter was tethered by a safety line, but died before he could pulled be from the water by fellow rescuers. Around 25 homes were heavily damaged by flooding in the county with several dozen more sustaining lesser damages. One home in Carlisle Township sustained enough damage to be classified as destroyed. Twenty eight apartments, mostly in Carlisle Township, were also damaged by the flooding. State Routes 18, 511, 58 and 303 all had to be closed because of flooding. A couple dozen other roads and streets also had to be closed. Hundreds of homes sustained damage from basement flooding. Crop losses in Lorain County are also expected to be substantial as standing water was observed over much of the county.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5518747. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.