Lakefront communities mop up after flood

Thomas Gonzales looks at the flood damage to his living room while standing next to a rug in his home on Allen Cove Road in Luna Pier, Mich., on Monday.

The Blade/Amy E. Voigt
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Cleanup of debris left behind by Lake Erie’s receding waters kept lakefront communities from Luna Pier, Mich., to the Lake Erie Islands busy Monday.

And farther north, in the Stony Point section of Monroe County’s Frenchtown Township, some areas remained inundated with water that the weekend’s high winds pushed onto the land.

Minor flooding, meanwhile, developed as forecast along several northwest Ohio rivers following rainfalls of about 1.5 inches throughout the region during the weekend.

The Lake Erie flooding was caused by sustained high winds from the east and northeast that piled up lake water against east-facing shores, particularly Sunday morning, and sent waves crashing into and over seawalls.

WATCH: Flood leaves Luna Pier home damaged

The city of Toledo said street-sweeping crews were assigned to 121st and 103rd streets and Edgewater Drive in Point Place to clear landscaping mulch and other debris washed into those streets by the flood water.

Employees of the division of streets, bridges, and harbor also were assigned to clear logs and debris from the parking lot at Cullen Park, while parks, recreation, and forestry workers cleared the park’s walking paths and checked the condition of stone around its boat launch.

A toy truck, that was not owned by the family in the residence, appears in the home home of Denise Raymond, not pictured, after the flooding on Allen Cove Road in Luna Pier, Mich., on Monday.

A city advisory urged affected homeowners to hire only licensed and insured contractors for clean-up work, and said any questions or problems could be directed to the Better Business Bureau at 419-531-3116.

In Luna Pier, Mayor David Davison said the city was helping property owners by distributing large garbage bins around the community and sending out municipal workers to assist in debris cleanup.

“We’re helping them the best that we can,” Mr. Davison said.

Wendy Stevens, chief of the Frenchtown Township Fire Department, said water had similarly retreated from the Grand Beach area.

“It looks like a disaster zone, there’s just debris everywhere,” she said.

But even worse off, the fire chief said, was Stony Point — just south of the Fermi nuclear plant — where construction work on the sea wall and related drainage system meant floodwater was sticking around.

People who didn’t evacuate voluntarily on Sunday “are kind of stuck,” Chief Stevens said, because now the roads and bridges are under water.

The fire department has boats ready in case any rescue needs arise, she said, because an ambulance would not be able to get into the flooded coastal neighborhood.

Well to the east, Paul Riddle, Put-in-Bay’s police chief, said flood water that cut off the eastern part of South Bass Island from the rest of the island on Sunday was long gone, but clearing debris it left behind was a significant chore.

Katrina Reed, a spokesman for the Miller Boat Line, said South Bass ferry service that had been shut down since 10 a.m. Saturday was restored at 7 a.m. Monday, but initially only at the downtown dock because of minor damage to the boat line’s East Dock. The latter was repaired in about six hours, and service resumed there by early afternoon, she said.

There was “no damage to the boats,” she said. “As far as post flood cleanup, we had the usual debris, lots of sticks and rocks.”

The Ohio Department of Transportation said several state highways, including State Rt. 2 near the Davis-Besse nuclear power station, State Rt. 53 on Catawba Island, and State Rt. 163 near Marblehead, remained closed Monday morning but reopened by the afternoon. Oak Harbor police said several local roads in Carroll Township also remained closed early in the day.

Thomas Gonzales, left, helps his neighbor Dale Jessick, right, remove damaged furniture from his home that was flooded on Allen Cove Road in Luna Pier, Mich., on Monday.

Flood warnings remained in effect Monday for the Portage River in Sandusky and Ottawa counties and the Tiffin and St. Joseph rivers in Fulton, Williams, and Defiance counties.

Flooding from all three rivers was expected to be minor in nature, the National Weather Service said.

The Portage was expected to crest the soonest. It was six-tenths of a foot above its 9-foot flood stage in Woodville on Monday morning and was forecast to top out at 9.9 feet Monday evening before receding to within its banks during the subsequent 24 hours or so.

The Tiffin was about 1 foot above its 11-foot flood stage at Stryker on Monday morning and was expected to rise another foot before cresting early Wednesday afternoon. The St. Joseph was expected to reach its 12-foot flood stage near Montpelier on Monday evening and crest at 12.4 feet early Tuesday evening.

A flood watch remained in effect as well for the Blanchard River near Ottawa, Ohio, but as of Monday forecasters said its rise was expected to halt just shy of flood stage there.

Contact David Patch at dpatch@theblade.com or 419-724-6094.