Flooding shocked Brownsville residents
BROWNSVILLE – Push brooms, shovels and rakes were the order of the day in Brownsville as residents did their best to clear away the debris left by flash flooding early Thursday. “We didn’t know we were getting flooded – we live on a hill,” said Second Street resident Randy Cronin.
Cronin wasn’t alone. Most residents of the lower South Side were caught off guard by the flooding. For once, it wasn’t their sewers backing up due to the rising waters of the Monongahela River. This time, the water came from the hillside above them, as small streams most residents never think about were blocked by debris and overflowed their banks.
Mayor Norma Ryan declared a state of emergency for that section of the borough around 1:30 a.m. Thursday.
“Usually, our flooding comes from the river and it’s gradual, not like this,” Ryan said.
Water rushed down several small streams coming through the woods from the High Street area and poured over portions of Second and Water streets and several side streets from the 700 block through 18th Street. Large logs, cement blocks, stones and silt swept through the residential area. On Washington Street, the water lifted the asphalt and then lodged several logs underneath it, making the area look like an earthquake zone.
“At first I couldn’t make it out because it was dark. Then someone said it was the road. It just looked like someone shook out a towel (leaving it rumpled,)” said Marcie Lauzon, who lives on Sheridan near Washington.
Lauzon said she got about 6 inches of water in her basement. Several logs were left in her side yard, despite a chain link fence, and a cement block apparently was washed into the yard as well.
“I can’t believe these big logs in the yard,” Lauzon said.
She and her husband were married in August and still had wedding presents stored in a basement closet. She said she wasn’t certain what condition they were in. Items including her husband’s artwork and record collection had been stored in the garage and were damaged by the water and mud.
“I know some people got it worse than us,” Lauzon said.
According to Ryan, one woman in the neighborhood said the area hadn’t had flash flooding like Thursday’s since 1936. Ryan, who lived on Second Street at the time, recalls the flood from her childhood. She was 5 years old and lived in the house next to the creek, where Lloyd and Pauline Flick now live. She was playing in the attic of the house across the street when the flooding hit.
“My mother called for us to come home, but we couldn’t because of the water, and the neighbor put on hip boots and carried me across the street,” Ryan said.
Connie Baker now lives in the house where Ryan had been playing during the 1936 flood. Thursday’s flooding left piles of gravel and mud in Baker’s yard. The stream that usually runs through a culvert, then through her yard, instead overflowed and swept around both sides of her house and through several neighboring yards to Washington Street.
“We had a leak in the house (roof). I looked out and said, ‘Forget about the leak in the house,'” Baker said.
Because the stream runs through her property, Baker said, she hasn’t been able to get insurance.
Borough Council President Jack Lawver said the fire departments pumped 8 feet of water out of one basement. Most received less, ranging from just enough to make everything wet to 6 inches or more.
“By the ball field, we have another creek, and they got a lot of water in their basements,” Lawver said.
At the corner of 18th and Second streets, the usually small stream turned into a torrent that brought all types of debris into Josephine Otanic’s yard.
“We got tires out of the woods, big stones. See how powerful water is,” Otanic said. “The firemen woke me up at 1 a.m. He said, ‘Check your basement,’ and it had water in it.”
Her granddaughter-in-law, Pandy Phillabaum, said the yard was level before the flood. Now there are gullies washing through it, piles of silt and debris, and what appears to be a large truck tire.
The Riverview Personal Care Home was evacuated because of the flooding. Lawver said the seven residents were first taken to a fire hall then transported by wheelchair vans to a personal care home in West Leisenring.
“It’s all part of our emergency plan,” Lawver said. “We haven’t had to deal with a flash flood like this before. It came up, then it went down fast, which is good. That way we were able to get things cleaned up a bit before it rains again.”
Vince Zapotosky from U.S. Rep. Frank Mascara’s office was in Brownsville Thursday to assess the damage and to offer any assistance the congressman’s office could provide.
“We’re going to work with the borough officials and the residents in taking away the burden in preparing the flood insurance claims. We’ll be working with PennDOT to see if they can provide some emergency assistance,” Zapotosky said.
He also found himself literally lending a hand, shoveling gravel out of Baker’s yard.
Ryan said she is still trying to get a full assessment of the damage and will walk through the neighborhoods to see what help each family may need. Ryan said the Red Cross has offered assistance.
Ryan said Brownsville, Brownsville Township and the Fayette County Bridge Department supplied high lifts to remove the debris from the streets.
“Anybody who’s had some damage, especially if they aren’t covered by insurance, we want to know,” Ryan said.