Heavy rains cause landslide in South Strabane Township
Heavy rains throughout Thursday night into Friday morning led to a landslide above Villas on the Green in South Strabane Township, damaging a home on Golf Course Drive in the housing development.
Jim Kashery, president of the Villas’ homeowners association, said they had been preparing for the possibility of the hillside collapsing.
“Several days ago we had a small mud slide up from the top of the hill, and I had our landscaping company, Mow, Mulch and More, come in,” Kashery said. “They were cleaning up the mud … Had them dump some gravel up there to try to prevent this big slide, and they were going to drive some steel beams in and try to prevent this hill from sliding anymore. (Thursday) night it got too bad, and it just took out everything.”
Kashery received a call from the homeowner at about 2:30 a.m. Friday about the landslide. Though there were no injuries, the inside of the home had water damage.
“On the inside, the hardwood floor is ruined. A tree (which fell due to the landslide) went through the window,” Kashery said.
The state Department of Transportation closed Locust Avenue between Hudack Hill and Interstate 79 to repair the damage, said Melissa Maczko, press officer for PennDOT District 12.
The storms also led to significant flooding at the Chartiers-Houston girls softball field. Students in the district had a remote learning day, as did students in West Greene School District in Greene County. Canon-McMillan, McGuffey and Trinity school districts each operated on two-hour delays due to weather-related issues.
According to the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh, between 1 1/2 inches and 2 1/2 inches of rain fell in Washington County during a six- to 12-hour period between Thursday and Friday. In Greene County, rain totals were between 1 1/2 inch to 2 inches, while Fayette County saw up to 1 1/2 inches during that span.
While Washington County remained under a flood warning throughout Friday morning, no other major issues were reported.
“When we’re looking at flooding, particularly during March, it doesn’t take as much rain to cause an issue, but 2 1/2 (inches) can give us an issue most times of the year,” said NWS Pittsburgh meteorologist Colton Milcarek.