Washington County asks property owners to report flood damage
Emergency officials compiling database to secure disaster relief funds
Washington County’s emergency management officials are asking residents and business owners to report to them any storm damage from Saturday’s flooding, in addition to claims people may have already made to their insurance carriers.
The county’s Department of Public Safety is collecting information to create a centralized database of storm damage that it can then share with state and federal emergency management agencies to determine whether the area is eligible for disaster relief funds.
“We appreciate the patience and support of residents and business owners as we work through this process,” Washington County Department of Public Safety Deputy Director Dan Harvey said in a written statement Wednesday. “The more information we have, the clearer the picture becomes of the overall impact, helping the county respond to this aftermath and prepare for future storms.”
While submitting a damage report does not guarantee financial assistance or reimbursement, it will help county emergency management officials and local leaders to have a more comprehensive assessment on the scope of flood-related damage throughout the county. People who need immediate assistance should also contact their local municipal officials or insurance carriers.
People can report flood-related details and photos about damage to their homes, businesses or property through the county’s online damage reporting system by filling out a survey online at crisistrack.juvare.com/public/washingtonPA/request.html. Anyone who has difficulty with the survey can call county public safety officials at 724-228-6911 or send an email to damage@washcopa.gov.
That was welcome news to Tara Smith, who has been flooded out of Summit Avenue Apartments in Canonsburg four times since Aug. 4, including this past weekend.
“As many times as I’ve been flooded this year, this one was the worst,” she said of the water that poured into her first-floor apartment following Saturday’s storms. “How many times do you have to get flooded to get this resolved?”
She said the property manager hired a restoration company to repair damage to the units, but she lost belongings and reached out to various charities in the region to get support. Smith added that the apartment complex’s owners are now installing a French drain around the property, which will hopefully help mitigate future flooding, although she is currently looking for a new place to move permanently after the headache of four floods in the last six weeks have caused her.
“I’m hopeful, but we have another week of constant rain coming,” Smith said. “I’m pretty anxious, I’m not going to lie. But I hope this is behind me.”
Smith started an online fundraiser to help offset the costs of her property losses, which can be found by searching “Tara Smith Canonsburg Flooding” on GoFundMe. She also started a petition drive on www.change.org under the title “Support Emergency Housing Assistance for Displaced Washington County Residents” that is designed to spur local and county leaders to make flood-control improvements.
Storms dumped about 2 inches of rain in an hour Saturday afternoon and brought widespread flooding in the Washington area and South Strabane and North Strabane townships. Washington & Jefferson College’s football field at Cameron Stadium was flooded, forcing the evacuation of fans and the teams from the facility as the game was suspended at halftime. A few miles away in South Strabane, a storm drain collapsed below the parking lot behind the township’s fire station on Oak Spring Road, leading to a massive sinkhole opening up near the building.
The city of Washington and South Strabane Township each declared a state of emergency and were working with county public safety officials to see if disaster relief funds are available through state and federal emergency management agencies.