CLEVLEAND — Heavy rain early this morning caused highways and streets across northeast Ohio to flood. Cleveland Fire rescued a mother and her two-year-old after their car was stuck in about 30 inches of floodwater near East 75th Street and Crowell Avenue.
“Our technical rescue unit got down there and got on their swift water gear,” said Mike Norman the public information officer for the Cleveland Division of Fire. “They are trained in water rescues, and they went in there and were able to remove the mother and child, so it was a good result.”
Norman said the department has responded to at least 15 car-related water rescues this year, which is not normal.
“We’ve had a number of them,” said Noman. “I think it’s been a matter of the weather that we’ve had and just certain instances that have happened. So, I hope we are getting the message out to people, don’t drive into standing water.
For some drivers on I-90 this morning, avoiding standing water was impossible. I-90 near Carnegie Avenue was backed up for hours as ODOT controlled the flooding from a clogged drain. Brent Kovacs with ODOT District 12 said hard, fast rain, mixed with roadside litter, causes most issues.
“We got a call, and our sewer vac trucks came out and responded to the situation and closed the road because it was not safe with the amount of water on the road for motorists to be driving on it,” said Kovacs.
ODOT said its collected 17,000 bags of litter off Ohio roadways this year. Car parts, life vests, and styrofoam coolers are often found littering I-90 roadways. A hub cap was the culprit in this morning's backup.
“A little litter is a big problem,” said Kovacs. “Please just keep your trash in your vehicle. Make sure everything is secured in the back of your trailer.”
Remember, turn around, don’t drown and wait to dispose of any litter once arriving at your destination.
“You never know going into these situations, and we are going to take every precaution that we can to make sure we are looking out for life safety at all times,” Norman added.
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