Workers with the Tuscarawas County Engineer's Office were busy Monday making repairs in Warren Township after a Friday night storm damaged roads and plugged culverts.
Workers with the Tuscarawas County Engineer's Office were busy Monday making repairs in Warren Township after a Friday night storm damaged roads and plugged culverts.
The storm dumped about 5 inches of rain in the Roswell and Sherrodsville area in a short period of time and contributed to the death of an elderly Roswell-area woman who was apparently washed away by flooding.
On Monday, Tuscarawas County Coroner Dr. Jeff Cameron ruled as pending the cause of death for Doris Jenkins, 82, of Echo Lake Road after an autopsy was conducted.
One lane of New Cumberland Road in Warren Township near Conotton Creek was washed away by the heavy rains, according to county Engineer Joe Bachman, who was out with crews on Monday. The damage was near Dawn Road, about two miles south of New Cumberland.
Workers were rebuilding the road, and Bachman said he expected that work would be finished today.
Two other crews were unplugging culverts and making general repairs on Echo Lake Road, Henderson School Road and Tall Timber Road.
"We're fortunate that the rain was in a small area," Bachman said.
Alex McCarthy, director of the Tuscarawas County Emergency Management Agency, and his employees were out Monday talking to homeowners about damage to their property. "Looking ahead, we will be meeting with homeowners over the next couple of days to assess the damage to homes and property," he said.
He said he knew of only one house that had structural damage. In most case, residences had water in the basement or on the first floor. Some homeowners had sheds that were carried away by the flood waters.
The worst areas for damage were in the Roswell and Echo Lake Road area.
"I live in Roswell right beside the creek," Candice Byers Carlisle said in a Facebook message to The T-R. "The water came so fast on Friday night that there was nothing you could do except get to higher ground. Our basement and yard were under water. Our garage was flooded a couple feet."
Roswell Mayor Cathy Beach said Sunday that everything was back to normal in the village.
McCarthy encouraged any resident with storm damage to contact the EMA at 330-308-6670 to set up a time to meet with agency officials.
Because of the storm that night, the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh issued a flash flood emergency, which is only done when heavy rains pose a very significant threat for people. Shannon Heffernan, a meteorologist with the weather service, said the meteorologist who issued the warning has worked for the weather service for 25 years and had never issued one before.
McCarthy, who has a master's degrees in atmospheric science from the Ohio State University, said it is almost unprecedented for more than 5 inches of rain to fall in 45 minutes in this area.
He urged residents to heed flash flood warnings. "Rushing water is one of the most dangerous threats that flooding poses," he said.
The weather service is calling for a continued chance of thunderstorms today and Wednesday, but is predicting drier weather for the rest of the week and into the weekend.
Reach Jon at 330-364-8415 or at jon.baker@timesreporter.com.
On Twitter: @jbakerTR