Area residents, emergency personnel remember 1985 disaster
(The following is the first part in a two-part series on the so-called Election Day Flood of 1985. Today’s article takes a retrospective look back 25 years at the devastation through the eyes of some of the people it involved.) They named it the Election Day Flood of 1985.
Twenty-five years after striking the region on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 1985, it remains the worst flood in the history of Pennsylvania’s Monongahela River Valley.
“It is still the flood of record for the Mon,” said hydrologist Bill Drzal of the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh.
“It was something we never expected. + Places flooded we never thought would flood,” said Drexel Dillon, who was lockmaster at Maxwell Locks and Dam near Brownsville.
Nearly 2,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes in river towns throughout Fayette, Greene and Washington counties, with local officials declaring a state of emergency in their municipalities. Gov. Richard Thornburgh made a state declaration that night, also including Allegheny and Somerset counties. President Ronald Reagan followed with a national declaration on Saturday, Nov. 9, allowing local residents and businesses to apply for federal aid.
Reports of the impact included: Fayette County – 34 homes destroyed, 705 damaged, loss estimated at $9.49 million; Washington County – 88 homes destroyed, 1,133 damaged, loss estimated at $15.18 million; Greene County – 263 homes damaged, loss estimated at $6.15 million. Flood damage was later estimated at between $15 million and $20 million for Fayette County.
There were no accounts of dead or missing locally, however, several injuries were reported. Rescuers were credited with successful evacuations, many working around the clock to make certain people were safe.
Fred L. Lebder, who was Fayette County commissioner, said, “In the case of emergency, you would be surprised how people in Fayette County help each other. And you can’t give too much credit to firefighters.”
Art Strimel, who was fire chief of Point Marion Volunteer Fire Department, said, “We got tremendous support from so many agencies. The fire departments that were not affected by the floods came. The Fayette County Emergency Management Agency was great. The Red Cross, the Salvation Army – all those organizations helped us tremendously in our troubles.”
Ted Mellors, who was then director of the Emergency Management Agency and Emergency Medical Services for Fayette County, said, “People cared about each other and helped out with food supplies, shelter and cleaning up. It was an unfortunate situation but it brought out the best in people.”
The flood came as a result of two storms: one produced by Hurricane Juan in late October that traveled north and stayed over the Appalachian Mountains, dumping a lot of water into the region and saturating everything. A few days later, another storm from the Gulf of Mexico carried more rain into the Mid-Atlantic states, producing the flooding that started Nov. 4 in West Virginia, which suffered more than Pennsylvania.
A 1986 report issued by West Virginia Gov. Arch Moore explained that 44 people died in the flood and more than 9,000 homes and nearly 1,000 businesses were destroyed or damaged. Twenty-nine counties were declared a federal disaster area and towns such as Albright and Parsons were washed away. More than 450 roads and 102 bridges closed.
While there were no deaths in Pennsylvania, the flood was terrifying for those who experienced it.
Strimel, who today is director of ambulance services for Point Marion, said, “People were frightened. There was disbelief that it happened and so suddenly.”
In Pennsylvania, most of the flooding took place along the Monongahela River, which flows north from Fairmont, W.Va., to Pittsburgh. Flooding also took place along the Cheat River, which forms in Parsons, W.Va., and flows into the Mon River at Point Marion.
The water on the Mon River rose quickly above flood stage, producing historic highs. Local water levels for the locks and dams as recorded by the National Weather Service include: 44.4 feet at Point Marion, which has a flood stage of 26 feet, and 44.4 at Maxwell, which has a flood stage of 32 feet.
Evacuation effort
Rescuers evacuated people all day. Evacuation centers were set up in towns along the river. The National Guard was called. California University of Pennsylvania cancelled classes.
In Fayette County, affected areas included Point Marion, Lake Lynn, New Geneva, Nilan, Palmer, Adah, Fayette City, Isabelle, Gallatin, Sunshine, Martin, Masontown, Brownsville and Belle Vernon. Greene County’s affected areas included Dilliner, Greensboro, Alicia, Gray’s Landing and Rices Landing. In Washington County, flooded areas included West Brownsville, Coal Center, California and Roscoe.
The flooding began in Point Marion. State police asked the Point Marion Volunteer Fire Department shortly after midnight on Nov. 5 to check on people living on Nilan Road, across the Cheat River in Springhill Township. Firefighters thought there might be a little flooding but had no idea of the magnitude it would become.
“It just kept coming up. We really didn’t get a whole lot of warning. They couldn’t predict what we were looking at. The water kept rising and we kept evacuating people as needed,” said Strimel, who noted the water eventually reached the middle of town in Point Marion.
Mellors, who today is volunteer executive director for Fayette County Emergency Medical Services Council, noted the flood was unexpected.
“This flood was not predicted. We thought it would be only one or two feet. It was much, much more than that,” he said.
Point Marion also had to contend with rumors that the nearby Lake Lynn dam, a hydroelectric dam that was operated by West Penn Power in Springhill Township, had burst.
“That was the only panic,” said Strimel. “The other situation with water coming into the homes – people left and we provided a place for them to stay. But when word came the dam had broken, panic happened.”
Officials weren’t sure if the report was true, but, cautiously, sounded an alarm and evacuated more people. In reality, the dam had not burst and, in fact, the water already had crested.
Lebder was contacted at 6:30 a.m. that Point Marion was flooding and the polls that were set up in the Scouts building would have to be moved.
“I had to wade across the Point Marion bridge. The water was knee high,” said Lebder. “Of course, it kept coming in.”
Eventually, voting was suspended in Point Marion, Fayette City, Brownsville and Nicholson Township, as well as nine municipalities in Washington County.
Water rises
Town after town saw the river rise.
“We had six inches of water on Front Street. It went through the whole town,” said Vic Shine of Greensboro. “It came down through our driveway and into our cellar. The National Guard told everybody to leave.”
Vic, and his wife, Mary, who today is president of the borough council, said their basement filled with water and they lost everything it held.
“It was a pretty bad time for everyone,” said Mary Shine.
In Maxwell, Faye Biddle, who lives along the river, remembers speaking to her girlfriend by telephone about the runaway barges.
Later in the morning, firefighters came to tell them to expect some flooding on the road. She and her husband, Willard, took their granddaughter to a dental appointment in Uniontown.
“When we came back, we were flooded. We couldn’t get into our village,” she said. “It was devastating – especially when you lived there all your life.”
The water poured into the first floor of the Biddle house. They spent five to six days at the Labelle fire hall.
Returning home, Biddle said, “The water was bad but the mud was horrible.”
Mud was everywhere. The cleanup took time. Carpeting was pulled up. Some residents threw out their furniture although Biddle said she had her living room suite cleaned. It was six months before they could lay new carpet because they had to give the floorboards time to dry. The Biddles applied but did not receive a federal grant.
Biddle remembers with gratitude the local organizations and volunteers who helped, including the Rev. Thomas Logston of First Christian Church in Republic.
“He wouldn’t leave. He was diligent. I can’t describe the words for what he did,” said Biddle, who was so touched that she joined his church. “When you have a person as kind and compassion as this man, that’s a person you want to be around.”
No sleep for chief
Edward “Woody” Nicholson, fire chief for the South Brownsville Volunteer Fire Department, remembered, “I didn’t sleep for three days.”
Nicholson was working at Hillman Barge when he learned of the flooding. He left work before noon. The fire department was asked to bring boats to Point Marion but then told to turn back as problems began in Brownsville. They helped people move items and then evacuated people.
“The town was covered. You couldn’t get through the neck. You could have taken a boat from Fiddle’s (Confectionary) to 18th Street – everything was covered in water. Some places, it was a couple of feet. In some places, it was 10 feet deep,” he said.
After the flood, there was the cleanup. Besides the water, people had to deal with thick mud that covered everything. For some, the damage was so great, they were not able to return to their homes.
State and federal officials came to tour the flood site, including the governor and U.S. Sens. H. John Heinz and Arlen Specter. U.S. Rep. Austin J. Murphy held a congressional hearing and state Rep. Peter J. Daley, D-California, held a series of state hearings.
The flood brought frustration and despair to many people. It also commanded respect for the power of nature.
And many would agree with Nicholson, who said, “It’s something I don’t ever want to go through again.”