Muddy mess: Damage assessment begins in wake of record rainfall
As torrential rains came to an end, officials fanned out across the region Thursday to assess damages caused by this week’s severe flooding.
At least six municipalities in Washington, Greene and Fayette counties have enacted disaster declarations, including Marianna, Brownsville, Bentleyville, Deemston, and Rices Landing.
Washington County Department of Public Safety is working with municipal officials to get a detailed assessment of the total impact of the flooding in the county, officials said.
The state Department of Transportation said at 4 p.m. Thursday that at least five state roads in Washington and Greene counties remained closed due to flooding and landslides. A number of local roads also were closed.
PennDOT crews were cleaning up the roadway following a series of three mudslides on state Route 2020 in Marianna Borough.
“It’s the worst (landslide) I’ve ever seen in this area,” said Jeremy Berardinelli, Marianna Borough Council president.
A large portion of Adamson and Patterson Run roads also were washed out and damaged following the heavy rains.
The borough estimates it could cost as much as $600,000 to fix the damage caused by the landslide and flooding, but Berardinelli said the borough is still assessing damages and that figure could change “one way or another.”
The National Weather Service in Pittsburgh said Thursday that streams and rivers will be running high through the rest of the week following the record rainfall and cautioned drivers to obey all road closures.
In Deemston Borough, families on Hull Road were awaiting an assessment of a borough-maintained bridge to determine if it is safe for vehicle use after Plum Run Creek flooded the span Tuesday. One woman who uses the bridge for her commute to work said Thursday afternoon that she and her husband have remained at home while borough officials address the bridge’s safety.
Meanwhile, Bentworth Youth Baseball was asking for help to clean up its field after it was flooded.
The organization said the field is “in need of some serious TLC,” and will host a cleanup Saturday starting at 10 a.m.
“We would greatly appreciate any assistance you can offer,” the BYB wrote on its Facebook page. “We’re reaching out to our amazing community for help in cleaning up and restoring our field to its former glory.”
In Greene County, a large storage building was in danger of falling into Ten Mile Creek after a landslide from the torrential rain.
Greene County Emergency Director Rich Policz said they inspected the residence at 1489 North Eighty-Eight Road after receiving a report of the landslide and found the home was safe, but the storage building about 100 feet away was teetering on the edge.
Policz said emergency officials asked the homeowner to remove equipment from the storage building in case it were to slide down the hillside and into the creek.
“We actually went over and were watching from Ten Mile Park,” Policz said about emergency officials going to the park in Washington County to observe the landslide. “Once the rain let up, the ground quit moving. The ground was still saturated, but things are looking like they’ve stabilized.”
Clarksville firefighters, along with the state Department of Environmental Protection and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, assisted and determined there did not appear to be any danger to the home or environmental damage to the creek. Policz said it will be up to the homeowner to decide whether to stabilize the area around the storage building.
The water is now receding across Greene County, and no injuries or major damage was being reported, Policz said. However, emergency officials are coordinating with their counterparts in neighboring West Virginia to offer support with the Ohio River expected to crest at high flood levels late Thursday into early Friday.
Navigation on the Monongahela River in Charleroi was suspended as the water level rose there.
Frank Strumila, public affairs specialist for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said the water at Locks and Dam 4 in Charleroi exceeded “minor flood stage” as it sat at 29 feet Thursday afternoon. Typically, the water is at 10 or 11 feet.
“A lot of our navigation has been suspended, especially on the Mon,” Strumila said. “There are recovery operations that will probably go on until tomorrow at a few of our locks and dams. Really, it’s just weather dependent. I don’t see any future weather events coming through, but our region seems to have its own weather pattern.”
As for the rest of the river, Strumila classified it as “moderate flood stage” as of Thursday afternoon. Pittsburgh areas such as The Point crested at 28 feet and the Monongahela Wharf, 18 feet.
“They’re all affected,” Strumila said.
He said a crest gate was expected to be released Friday afternoon at Conemaugh River Lake. A crest gate is designed to manage and control the release of excess water to prevent overflow and potential damage.
“They open up the gate and let the water come out from the reservoir that has been collected,” Strumila said.
Officials in neighboring Fayette County said flooding issues had begun to wane.
“It’s a lot better now than in the last two days,” Brownsville Mayor Ross Swords said Thursday.
On Wednesday, Swords declared a state of disaster emergency for the borough after a number of houses on Water Street experienced major flooding.
“The flooding is at a minimum now,” Swords said.
Crews responded to around 20 flood calls on Wednesday, but only had a few Thursday morning.
“Basically, we stayed active all night,” he said.
On Wednesday, the American Red Cross Chestnut Ridge and Allegheny Mountains Chapter opened an emergency shelter at the Historic Church of St. Peter in Brownsville.
Swords said only one person stopped at the shelter for information, but added that it remained available should anyone need a place to stay.
Mark Hofmann, Mike Jones, Karen Mansfield and Paul Paterra contributed to this report.