Flooding in Ohio forces hundreds from homes

CANTON, Ohio -- Marsha West knew it was time to get out of her house when she saw a refrigerator float down her street, the water so high it nearly reached the top of her mailbox.

"I cried because I'm going to lose everything I've got," she said Monday. "I love my home."

West, her daughter and 2-month-old grandson were among about 1,000 people forced from their homes in northeast Ohio after weekend storms battered the Midwest and knocked power to tens of thousands of people.

Nearly 4 inches of rain was recorded Sunday at the Akron-Canton Regional Airport, helping set a record of 12.52 inches for July, according to the National Weather Service. The previous record was 11.43 inches 1958.

"It's just terrible. It's the worst summer ever," said Bertha Smith, who lives about five miles from Canton in Louisville, Ohio.

By Monday afternoon, floodwaters in Canton had receded, but West's basement was filled with water and her neighborhood was covered with mud, sewage and litter.

Barbara Ruscitti woke up early Monday morning and saw her dresser floating in her basement bedroom.

"When I put my feet over the side of my bed, my feet were in water," she said. "I was just stunned. I started yelling and screaming and crying."

The water filled the basement to its ceiling within minutes, she said. Ruscitti, her family members and other residents of the duplex formed a chain of 16 people to wade a block through neck-high water to a fire station.

Flooding damage was estimated at $1 million in Canton alone, said Ed Cox, coordinator for the Stark County Emergency Management Agency.

At the height of the storm Sunday evening, about 40,000 FirstEnergy customers were without power, spokeswoman Ellen Raines said. Most were expected to have their electricity back by Monday evening, she said.

About 22,000 Illinois customers of Commonwealth Edison lost power during Sunday's storms, mostly west and south of Chicago, company spokeswoman Meg Amato said.