Flood victims rescued by boats in Nottingham Township
A home belonging to Gary and Betty Martin, of Nottingham Township, was still surrounded by water Sunday morning, after heavy rain caused Mingo Creek to flood the area early Saturday.
A home belonging to Gary and Betty Martin, of Nottingham Township, was still surrounded by water Sunday morning, after heavy rain caused Mingo Creek to flood the area early Saturday.
Floodwaters from Mingo Creek carried this shed about 50 yards through a mobile home park on Little Mingo Road in Nottingham Township. The car was also carried by floodwater several yards until it struck a mobile home.
Floodwaters from Mingo Creek continue to surround a garage at Ginger Hill and Little Mingo roads in Nottingham Township Sunday, a day after residents had to be rescued by boats from the raging waters.
On Sunday, Elrama Volunteer Fire Company pumps out some of the water that stranded residents near the corner of Ginger Hill and Little Mingo roads early Saturday.
NOTTINGHAM – Patricia Naja, of Nottingham Township, was settled in for a quiet, peaceful Friday night. Then, she heard knocking and banging outside her Little Mingo Road mobile home.
“I opened the door and it was so surreal, because it looked like we were in the middle of a river with all the swirling and gushing water,” she said Sunday afternoon.
Naja was one of nine residents rescued by boats from Mingo Creek, which rain and flood waters turned into “Mingo River” early Saturday, surrounding and flooding trailers and homes near Little Mingo and Ginger Hill roads on the line of Nottingham and Union townships.
One resident, Sue, who didn’t want to be fully identified, said Sunday she remembers thinking how terrifying it was in the dark with the sound of the rushing water.
“I remember thinking we might not make it,” she said. “Is this how I’m going to die?”
Another resident, Julie, who also declined to give her surname, said it certainly was a “flash” flood. She said about 12:30 a.m., they could see grass, but by 2 a.m., 3 feet of water flowed around them.
Julie said she called 911 at 2 a.m. and told them they needed to be rescued. Valley Inn Volunteer Fire Department responded to the call and requested mutual aid from Elizabeth Borough Fire Department and Allegheny County Swift Water Rescue Team.
“We got called in from Valley Inn to assist them with entrapment in the water,” said Elizabeth Borough Fire Chief Chad Rager, who’s also a member of the water rescue team. “We got there and there was no way in, so we had to use our boat operations.”
Rager said some areas were 6-feet deep with a heavy current that appeared to be raging rapids in some locations. He said the Valley Inn fire team walked up on a bank near the back of the mobile home park and communicated with residents, letting them know the boats were en route.
Rager said his rescue team walked in the chest-high water and guided the boats, which carried the residents and their pets.
Gary and Betty Martin had five small dogs in their home, which filled with water starting in the basement and quickly entering their first floor.
“We’ve lived here 43 years, and this is the first time it’s ever come into the first floor,” Gary Martin said. “We thought we were going to lose our lives and that we were going to have to try to swim in that current. The foundation is the only thing that saved the house – if it was a trailer we would have been gone.”
Julie said the inflatable red rafts reached them by 4 a.m., when the water near her home had just begun to recede.
Rager said it took them a little while to set up because they had to call for back up from the Allegheny County team.
“You have to have back-up teams all the way down the streams just in case one of us gets swept away, and we can have people down there with safety lines and ropes,” he said. “Everything was dark, so we had safety lines up and safety teams there.”
Rager said his team was swimming over trees and debris they couldn’t even see in the darkness.
“A night operation makes it so difficult because you can’t see anything,” he said. “Water rescue is one of the toughest trainings you can do. It was dangerous.”
Rager said, despite the conditions, the rescue went well. After they brought the residents to safety, they were taken to a shelter at the New Eagle volunteer Fire Department social hall.
“No one got hurt, so that’s the main thing,” Rager said. “We kept them calm and got them out of there.”
The residents were grateful for the rescue team calling them “kind,” “supportive” and even “funny.”
Julie said by 9:30 a.m., they were allowed to go back to their homes. She said while there was some relief in that moment, she was nervous to see the mess that was waiting for her at home.
“The water was going down as quick as it came,” she said. “Coming back, it was nice to see no water.”
Julie had to rip out the carpeting in her first floor, her new car was totaled from the water and her porch partly collapsed. Her shed lifted in the flooding and traveled through the mobile home park about 50 yards. She said two glass vases she had stored on a shelf in the shed had not fallen or broken, but other items were tossed around and destroyed by the water.
Other residents also lost vehicles, the skirting to their mobile homes and various belongings that were stored in basements.
“We know that it could have been worse,” Julie said. “Things can be replaced and washed.”
The creek flooding also did damage to Mingo Creek County Park. By 7:30 a.m. Saturday, Shelter 2 was completely submerged and maintenance crews spent Saturday clearing fallen trees and debris.
Washington County Commissioner Harlan Shober said the foundation of one restroom building at the park had been hollowed out.
“Debris is everywhere. Tables are overturned,” Shober said. “Everything can basically be repaired.”
Several parts of the county experienced 2 to 5 inches of rain from Friday into Saturday morning, including Finleyville, Monongahela and Marianna.
Later Saturday afternoon, Union Township declared a state of emergency because of flood damage. According to a post on the township’s Facebook page, they are looking for any residents with flood damage to send them information and photos explaining the amount of damage incurred at their homes.
Shober said the commissioners spoke Sunday and decided to not declare a state of emergency for Washington County.
“A lot of times with FEMA you don’t get much anyways,” he said. “That’s not something we’re going to do at this time.”