AKRON, Ohio — A water main break early Saturday caused flooding outside and inside Cleveland Clinic Akron General, disrupting emergency services and forcing some patients to be diverted to other facilities while crews worked to restore service, according to the city of Akron.
City officials said the break happened just before 4 a.m. on a 12-inch water line located directly across the street from the hospital’s emergency department entrance. Akron water crews arrived shortly after and began assisting hospital staff with pumping water out of the building.
Authorities said the first floor of the main hospital building was affected, but no other downtown structures reported issues. The emergency department temporarily diverted ambulance traffic as repairs continued.
The city did not issue a boil advisory, noting that water pressure in the surrounding area remained stable. A contractor, Kenmore Construction, was excavating the site to access and repair the damaged line.
Officials said just before 10:30 a.m. that they estimated repairs would take four to six hours before water service could be fully restored.