Cleanup continues throughout Summit County following the extreme rains of August 8. At the Noisy Oyster in Akron, flash flooding left mud-caked floors and water stains on the walls showing how high the flood was.
The storm quickly brought several centimeters of rain.
“After just a few minutes the ground gave way and huge amounts of water came in,” said Jonathan Curtis, owner of Noisy Oyster.
“We’re still cleaning up,” Curtis said. “We’ve cleaned a lot of the interior. We’re making pretty good progress with that. And right now we’re trying to clean the equipment.”
Curtis filed damage reports with Summit County, which could potentially lead to state funding for cleanup. Curtis says right now, it’s the little things that get him through the day.
“I think all of us have had moments where we’ve looked at everything we’re doing and thought, we’re never going to get this done, this is impossible,” Curtis said. “And then something gets done or someone comes and does something for you and you think, oh, maybe this isn’t as insurmountable as you think.”
“Fantastic” is how Curtis describes the support from the community. A fundraiser for the Noisy Oyster is planned for Thursday and a Go Fund Me account has been set up online.
Although plans are still preliminary, Curtis is considering reopening the restaurant soon.
“We don’t want to promise too much, but we hope it will be sometime early next week,” Curtis said of the planned reopening.
Summit County will accept damage assessments until August 21. On Saturday, Governor Mike DeWine declared a state of emergency in eight counties, including Summit. The flash floods occurred two days after severe storms, including five tornadoes, devastated the region.
“We are here for the duration and will continue to help Northeast Ohio communities recover from the damage left by the storm should we receive a new request for services the state can provide,” DeWine said in a statement.
Once all damage reports are received, the Ohio Emergency Management Agency will review them and determine if assistance is needed.
