A pile of wet carpet cut up into pieces, soggy boxes and other damaged goods on the curb in front of Phoebe Mayle's house tell the story of the flood that swept through her home during Sunday night's storm.

"It was a nightmare," Mrs. Mayle said as she stood on her front lawn at 102 E. Park Ave. chatting with family members. As the women talked, soaked clothes, curtains, blankets and other drenched items hung from clothes lines in the backyard, slowly drying.

Mrs. Mayle has lived at her home for 14 years, but said she has never seen flooding like she saw Sunday night. A backed-up sewer filled her basement with about 2 feet of water, ruining a washer and dryer.

"It happened so fast," she said. "It's terrible."

Storms that hit parts of Trumbull County last week didn't damage her house, Mrs. Mayle said, but the second wave caught up with her.

Just down the street from Mrs. Mayle, fire officials hurriedly washed mud from the grounds and pumped water from the basement of St. Patrick's Church on North Main Street in preparation for the church's festival, which begins Thursday.

The Rev. Bob Miller said there was about an inch of floodwater left in the basement. The church got nearly 5 feet of water, and the parking lot was washed out.

"The entire kitchen and everything down there was a total waste," he said. Rev. Miller playfully added that the kickoff spaghetti dinner had just wrapped up before the storm "managed to come along and clean up for us."

Rev. Miller said that the last time the basement flooded in 1990 retaining walls were installed, which helped to keep a lot of the water out.

He said the parking lot should be serviceable by the opening of the festival, but it will probably have to be repaid.

Hubbard Volunteer Fire Department Fire Chief David J. Kyle said about 200 homes were affected in some way by the latest storms.

About 5 feet of water flooded the church basement, Kyle said, and all the flooding calls kept the fire officials very busy.

"All my guys are pretty tired," he said, adding that many other departments in the county "had their own problems."

A few feet down from the church is Repair That Glass owned by Don Newell. Workers power washed mud and dirt from the pavement of Newell's business, as the owner sized up the damage caused by the 4è-foot floodwaters that ravaged the area.

"I lost everything," he said. In addition to his van being flooded out, he said a customer's car that was parked in his garage was also flooded.

He also owns Section 8 Skate Park, which sits behind his auto repair shop.

At about 11 p.m. Sunday, Newell said, the water in the building was over the level of nearby railroad tracks. "There were actual waves here," Newell said.

Mud in the building that houses wooden ramps for skaters was more than an inch thick. The smell of damp wood was still thick in the air, and the line that showed where the floodwaters reached were still visible.

Newell added that with all the damage done to his three buildings, and without insurance coverage for such disasters, he may be forced to close the park, which has been open since 1995.

He said the damage to his properties is in excess of $100,000.

"If the (Federal Emergency Management Agency) doesn't come through, I may have to close that place back there."

Township trustee Fred Hanley, who had been out looking at damaged properties and flooded roads, said businesses had barely gotten over the storms of last week before being hit with Sunday's showers.

"It's terrible," he said. "We need a federal declaration to get the assistance in here for businesses to rebuild."

He added that parts of Bell Wick and Mount Everett roads will remain closed indefinitely while crews work on them.

A National Weather Service spokesman said that scattered showers will fall in some parts of the area today, but the next few days should be dry, he said.

The next bout of rain will probably come Thursday, he said, though he couldn't confirm what the chance of showers was.

For answers to specific questions or more information, Trumbull County residents should call the Red Cross at 330-392-2551 or the county's Emergency Management Agency at 330-392-7925.

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