WILLOUGHBY HILLS, Ohio — Wednesday night’s flooding of one low-lying neighborhood came as a surprise to many, and there’s a chance that more could be on the way.
Three streets, Mayfriars Drive, Trailard Drive, and Glengate Road, sit in an area that is nearly surrounded by the Chagrin River. When the river began to over flow, there was nowhere for it to go but into the neighborhood.
When the flooding hit, many people were caught off-guard. Some had to be rescued by boat.
“I told my wife, ‘this is not a drill. We need to pack up and at least get ready to go,'” said Damon Boogaart. He and his wife left their home around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday. Fortunately, they had a place to go.
“God watched out for us. My parents happened to be staying in town at a hotel. So we had a place to go.”
But others stayed through the flooding. Judy Stoiner and her husband have lived in the neighborhood for 27 years. This is the first time she has seen flooding this as bad as it was.
“Last night my husband wanted to leave and pack up the cats. I said, ‘let’s just stay here and wait it out,'” said Stoiner. But she had no idea what she was in for.
“Its scary. This is the first experience for me. It’s a scary thing — scary feeling. Now I know what people go through when you see people on TV about flooding. Not a fun thing.”
According to Willoughby Hills Mayor Robert Weger. The area hasn’t been hit with flooding of this magnitude since 1978. And flooding was never supposed to be an issue since the Army Corps of Engineers rerouted the path of the river to help prevent flooding.
Weger spent much of the afternoon talking to residents who live here and suggested they have “ready bags” if they decide to stay, as the flooding could get worse the next couple days.
“They said that the flood water could hit about 8 feet possible in the next few days,” said Jeff Federico.
Robert Whitney added, “If we get eight feet above what we had last night, my whole house will be underwater.”
But that could be a possibility with a half inch of rain in the forecast for Friday. The flood waters already have nowhere to go. And since the water isn’t going anywhere, some have decided to pack their bags and head out first.
“I got my familiy. I have my and my daughters guitar. We have some pictures and that’s what we need. We don’t need any of this stuff,” said Boogaart as he grabbed a few more items from his home Thursday afternoon.
“This is the worst it’s ever been. Everything I have is as high as I can stack it. And the most valuable stuff is going out with me today in my truck,” said Whitney. “That’s all you can do. You can’t fight mother nature.”
“It’s hard to cope with, we’re having a hard time dealing with it,” said Stoiner who plans to stay in her home as long as possible. “This is where we’re going to stay unless we have to get out.”
The American Red Cross was in the neighborhood assisting residents who needed it.